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NFL reportedly in ‘advanced talks’ with new partner for Sunday Ticket package; deal could come as soon as Wednesday
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
The NFL is looking for a new partner for its long-running Sunday Ticket out-of-market package as its deal with DirecTV expires after the 2022 season. While the league has had a number of suitors, one appears to be ahead of the pack: Google.
According to the Wall Street Journal’s Joe Flint, the NFL and Google are in “advanced negotiations” to pair the package with Google’s YouTube TV service. Per Flint, “an agreement could be reached as early as Wednesday” pending a vote by NFL owners.
DirecTV has been the rightsholder for NFL Sunday Ticket for years. However, AT&T, DirecTV’s majority owner, declined to extend its agreement past 2022, opening up an anticipated bidding process among a number of potential partners. Amazon, who already carries Thursday night games, along with Apple, were thought to be frontrunners, but Apple reportedly exited negotiations, leaving Amazon and Google as the bidders.
Now, all signs point to Google being the new home of NFL Sunday Ticket for the foreseeable future beginning with the 2023 season.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
