Report: Destination has emerged for NFL's Sunday Ticket package

Apple has emerged as the frontrunner to land the NFL’s Sunday Ticket package after the 2022 season, according to a report from NBC’s Pro Football Talk. An unnamed source told sports business reporter Matthew Belloni that the deal has been finalized, but kept under wraps at Apple’s request.

The price is rumored to be around $2.5 billion per year, and would bring Apple within the league’s broadcast-partner tent that already includes ESPN, FOX, NBC, CBS and Amazon. Disney, which owns ESPN, and Amazon both also expressed interest in purchasing the NFL Sunday Ticket package.

Launched in 1994, NFL Sunday Ticket has since grown into one of the most popular ways to watch NFL games. The service offers fans the ability to watch contests that are unavailable in their local TV markets. It also includes the ever-popular Red Zone Channel, which switches from game to game to show noteworthy plays such as scores or turnovers.

Satellite TV provider DirecTV currently owns the rights to Sunday Ticket, but they are set to expire at the conclusion of the 2022 season. DirecTV has paid $1.5 billion per season for the past seven seasons and currently charges $300 for the package as an add-on. However, a rise in streaming services has rendered DirecTV incapable of competing with big brands such as Apple, and will result in a new home Sunday Ticket in 2023.

However, Apple isn’t the only media giant that will be dipping its toes into NFL waters for the first time. Beginning next season, Amazon will take over the broadcasting rights for the league’s Thursday Night Football matchup, which was previously shared between FOX and NFL Network. The billion-dollar company also brought on ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit and NBC’s Al Michaels to call the games, creating even more buzz around its acquisition.

This offseason has resulted in a lot of changes in the sports broadcasting world, and goes to show the way people consume sporting events is quickly moving away from cable. According to Pro Football Talk, Apple may be allowed to sell a sliver of the satellite rights, either to people in areas that lack high-speed Internet access or to bars.