Beware The Ides Of March For The NFL Exclusive License

[Big FN Deal]

Ok, technically mid-February may be an earlier indicator but I like the thread title and by March 15th it should be even more apparent that, the 2013-14 NFL season will probably be the last for EA's 9 year NFL exclusive video game license run.

The original five year deal was announced in December 2004 with the exclusive license set to expire at the end of the 2009-10 NFL season/Madden 10, the three year extension in February 2008 which changed the exclusive license expiration to the end of the 2012-13 NFL season/Madden 13 and the current one year extension in February 2011 which changed the exclusive license expiration to the end of the 2013-14 season/Madden 14.

With February usually being the official end of the NFL season following the Super Bowl and the 2012-13 NFL season/Madden 13 being the next to last year before the NFL exclusive license ends, no news could be good news, by March 15th, for the return of NFL video game competition.

For those wondering why in the Helen wouldn't I wait to post this after March 15th then or at least closer to it, because. Aside from wanting to have "I told you so rights", exclusive licenses seem to be an old outdated video game business model, that EA and other companies are no longer investing in. It seems the current video game business model is all about investing in the quality of the product and eliminating the competition through superior quality, not buyouts.

Yeah, like that will ever work......
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[TheDelta]

Didn't they already extend the license last year during the lockout?

[scoonie05]

^^^ Yes, it got extended to 2013

[LaW97]

no way EA gets outbid whenever the contract is close to ending.
no way they let madden just go away.
whatever 2k or whoever brings to the table,EA will match it,
just cause they are the big dog in the room and can do so.

i only hope another company just sets out to make a game without an nfl license that happens to mirror the nfl

[GeorgiaSports]

^Bingo. That would be perfectly ok by me.

Its not about the teams/players and so own when I play. I want realistic and good gameplay over all else I could handle it being fictional teams/players as long as the game play is superior.

[newjerseydamo]

Quote: Originally Posted by LaW97

i only hope another company just sets out to make a game without an nfl license that happens to mirror the nfl

A company did, its called "Backbreaker"

[Big FN Deal]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheDelta

Didn't they already extend the license last year during the lockout?

Yep, it was announced in February 2011 and was for one more year, extending it until the end of the 2013-14 NFL season/Madden 14, which I stated in the OP.

Quote: Originally Posted by LaW97

no way EA gets outbid whenever the contract is close to ending. no way they let madden just go away. whatever 2k or whoever brings to the table,EA will match it, just cause they are the big dog in the room and can do so. i only hope another company just sets out to make a game without an nfl license that happens to mirror the nfl

I don't expect another company to outbid them, I think the exclusivity of the NFL license is going to end and go back to multiple licensing, probably at an increased price. The only company willing and most likely able to pay a "King's Ransom" in the first place was EA but I don't think that's their business model anymore. I don't know how many people noticed but the NCAA exclusive license is all but over and probably officially ends after the last College Bowl game in January 2012.

I believe the one year extension of the NFL license in February 2011 was only because of the looming lockout and now with a long term NFL CBA in place, that will not happen again, imo. Going by the last two times, when it came within two years of the license ending, EA renewed in February, so time will tell.

[LaW97]

Quote: Originally Posted by newjerseydamo

A company did, its called "Backbreaker"

Backbreaker does not mirror the NFL

its a game that is similar to American Football

but it doesnt mirror the nfl's season or players