EA renews Madden exclusivity deal with NFL, NFLPA

By Chris Morris Published May 28, 2020

Electronic Arts renewed its exclusivity deal with the NFL, locking in Madden as the only NFL-approved football sim for years.

EA Sports, the National Football League, and the NFL Player’s Association announced a multiyear renewal of their long-term partnership on Thursday.

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Terms and length were not disclosed, but a report earlier this week in The Sporting News said the deal will last through the 2025 season, with a chance to extend to 2026.

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Beyond the continuation of the Madden franchise, EA said it plans to use the licenses in different ways, including “new genres, expanded e-sports programs, arcade-style, and enhanced mobile experiences, and more, across platforms.”

The partners also say they hope to focus on international growth and pledged “design, visualization and development innovations that grow and deepen the world of Madden NFL”.

News of the renewal was expected, but pressure on EA increased after a March announcement that 2K Sports had struck a deal with the NFL to create a line of “non-simulation” games for the next few years.

2K’s games won’t compete head-to-head with Madden, but the deal opens up the possibility that EA could face a challenge to the football dominance it has held since 2004.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Chris Morris has covered consumer technology and the video game industry since 1996, offering analysis of news and trends and…

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