Google Emerges As Leader To Land 'NFL Sunday Ticket' According To Report

The coveted NFL Sunday Ticket package is inching closer to its new home as its current deal with DirecTV comes to a close after this season.

According to The Wall Street Journal's Joe Flint, YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, is in advanced talks to land Sunday Ticket as the bidding war nears an end as two names are left in the ring to duke it out. The NFL's reported asking price for Sunday Ticket sits at $3.5 billion.

Since 1994, DirecTV has been the exclusive home for NFL Sunday Ticket. DirecTV was shelling out about $1.5 billion for its deal.

Heading into the week, Google and Amazon were in tight competition to land Sunday Ticket, known as the premier subscription-based access to watch NFL games, after Apple dropped out of the bid.

In July, projections had Apple as the lead contender to strike a deal for Sunday Ticket.

Per the WSJ, talks between Google and NFL owners responsible for the Sunday Ticket deal are at an "advanced" stage, with an agreement reportedly set to be in place and announced as soon as Wednesday.

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Exclusive broadcasting access to Sunday Ticket brings on a wealth of viewership, as seen in Amazon's debut year running Thursday Night Football. According to their metrics, Amazon is reeling in around 11 million viewers per primetime matchup, though Nielsen's TV ratings metrics land the average viewership closer to 9 million per broadcast.

Google's plan to incorporate Sunday Ticket into its ongoing model would likely include the service on its YouTube TV platform. Amazon's strategy with buying Sunday Ticket aimed to boost its budding Amazon Prime Video streaming package.

The year-long bidding war may finally come to an end in the next 24 hours.

It is the NFL, so don't rule out a last-second comeback by Amazon just yet. Stay tuned.

(Photo by Courtney Culbreath/Getty Images)