Uh oh. Has Ellen jumped onto a steadily sinking ship? British paper The Sun reports this morning that Simon Cowell’s brother has confirmed that the American Idol judge is indeed leaving the popular Fox reality singing competition once its ninth season is over next year—a rumor that’s been getting louder with each passing day.

The Sun notes that last night Tony Cowell blurted out the following during his weekly radio broadcast The Cowell Factor:

“Meanwhile, Simon prepares for a new season of Idol, or should I say his last season of Idol—OK, I will say it, because it is.

“As I sit here in the sunny Caribbean with my family, a press statement is being prepared which will confirm what everyone expected—Simon will leave Idol at the end of 2010 to concentrate on bringing the American version of The X Factor to US TV in 2011.”

Billboard reports that Cowell’s publicist and Fox had no comment on the matter.

This, of course, isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Simon plans to tip over the Idol franchise with a red, white and blue rendition of The X Factor. Ryan Tedder practically spilled the beans to Idolator two weeks ago.

“I think once X Factor starts [here in the U.S.], Simon’s going to—he’s extremely competitive—and I think he’s going to attempt an overthrow of the American Idol paradigm,” Tedder told us. “He’s gonna shift it to X Factor. I’m pretty sure that’s gonna happen.”

Whether or not the press statement actually arrives this week, one thing’s for certain: Simon’s Idol contract will be fulfilled after this next season. And how long can we really expect Mr. Nasty to resist the shiny glare of American television screens—especially when the glare is filled with so much green?