The National Football League and EA Sports have officially announced a new five-year contract extension that will see them further their partnership in regards to the popular Madden video game franchise, according to Action Network’s Darren Rovell.
The new deal is worth at least $1 billion to the league and $500 million to the players, and also includes at least $500 million marketing commitments throughout the years.
According to the MMQB’s Albert Breer, the new deal will run through the 2025 season but it can extend through the 2026 season if certain revenue thresholds are reached.
First launched back in 1989, the Madden franchise has rocketed in popularity, and proven sustained success ever since. Since 2005, it has been the exclusive NFL game.
2K Sports, which offered the last real competition to EA Sports in regards to NFL football video games, landed a new, multi-year partnership with the NFL for multiple video games beginning in 2021, however they made it clear that those game would be “non-simulation football game experiences.”
Not only has Madden maintained it’s success as a premier sports game, it has made it’s way into esports, Twitch streams, and other streaming platforms, further exemplifying it’s incredible impact on the market, it’s popularity, and it’s profitability.
Fans may have been clamoring for EA Sports to finally have some competition, to make their annual offering of Madden less “copy and paste” and more imaginative. As someone who has played the games since it landed in the late 80s, I can say that EA Sports’ approach to the game each year lacks any true innovation, and often leaves me wanting more out a game that I find “stale” at times.
With 2K Sports now building a relationship with the NFL in regards to video games, the heat could be on for EA Sports to take a new, creative approach to the game to bring some fans who may have stopped buying annually, back into the fold.
