Madden 12 News Post

EA/NFL Extend NFL Exclusive License by One Year to 2013

07:10 PM - February 14, 2011 by RaychelSnr

The Sports Business Journal is reporting that the NFL and EA have come to terms on extending the current exclusive deal one more year with the uncertainty surrounding the 2011 NFL Season.

Quote:


	"The NFL has restructured its lucrative licensing and sponsorship contract with Electronic Arts to account for the sport�s uncertain future, significantly reducing the video game maker�s contractual obligations next season but adding a year to the deal, according to several well-placed sources. The contract now runs through 2013. The league is believed to have so far rebuffed pleas for fee reductions from other licensees and sponsors, many of which, like EA, find it difficult planning for the next season under the threat of a work stoppage. The league�s collective-bargaining agreement with the players expires March 4, and the two sides are far apart on reaching a deal. EA, however, is a special case, with its iconic �Madden� video game title. The licensing deal it agreed to with the league in early 2008 is believed to be worth well into nine figures in guarantees and royalties over its original five-year term. That stands as one of the most, if not the most lucrative non-TV contract the NFL enjoys. The NFL Players Association, which signed a companion EA deal for rights to the players, reaps regularly between $30 million and $40 million annually, according to the union�s annual filings with the Labor Department. The league deal allows EA to use team colors, names and logos."

This basically means that EA has exclusive rights to Madden now until after Madden NFL 14 -- or roughly right about the time the next generation of consoles are set to hit.

This just shows how strong of business partners the NFL and EA Sports are at this point. The NFL is giving EA a break on payments this year and has basically given them an additional year as a make-up of sorts to make right. Also, if you read my 2011 Predictions Post back in January, you saw this was my first prediction, that the deal would be extended in some way this year.

So in that respect, this news is not unexpected -- and with the deal stretching into the next console generation, I have serious doubts any other company is going to be in a position enter the market anytime soon due to the extreme cost of entry into quality sports game development that will be present at that time.

Thanks to Pasta Padre for the news tip.

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Member Comments

# 221 DLaren @ 02/15/11 10:06 PM

I've sat here for over an hour now, sipping my Yerba Mate' tea, reading the reactions in all 270+ replies...and I'm amazed that so many people are STILL so emotionally invested in football gaming.

I figured after about six years of sub-par experiences, most would have simply grown apathetic to the entire situation...I know I have.

I've bought every Madden title this generation, and I don't think I've held-on to any of them for longer than a few weeks (though, NFL HeadCoach'09 had some serious staying-power). At this point, I've resigned myself to simply enjoying Madden for about a month, then trading it in for something else once I can no longer stomach all of the lingering issues.

This extended deal didn't even provoke a reaction from me. I'll have Madden'12 a week early (as usual), love it for a couple of weeks, tolerate it for one more week, then trade it in for something more satisfying. And you know what? I'm ok with that...for better or worse, until someone can produce a football game that demands my attention for months on end.

# 222 Tweeg @ 02/15/11 10:49 PM

Sad face....FML

# 223 jeremym480 @ 02/15/11 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DLaren


	I've sat here for over an hour now, sipping my Yerba Mate' tea, reading the reactions in all 270+ replies...and I'm amazed that so many people are STILL so emotionally invested in football gaming. I figured after about six years of sub-par experiences, most would have simply grown apathetic to the entire situation...I know I have. I've bought every Madden title this generation, and I don't think I've held-on to any of them for longer than a few weeks (though, NFL HeadCoach'09 had some serious staying-power). At this point, I've resigned myself to simply enjoying Madden for about a month, then trading it in for something else once I can no longer stomach all of the lingering issues. This extended deal didn't even provoke a reaction from me. I'll have Madden'12 a week early (as usual), love it for a couple of weeks, tolerate it for one more week, then trade it in for something more satisfying. And you know what? I'm ok with that...for better or worse, until someone can produce a football game that demands my attention for months on end.

Thats pretty much my feelings, as well. I'm buying M12 day one and my only expectation is for it to keep me entertained for a month or two. Mainly because I know that even if it's the best football game ever made it's still going to have some stiff competition for gaming time with games like NBA 2K12, Uncharted 3 and Batman: Arkham City right around the corner. Although, I'm still holding out hope for a deep offline franchise and an upgraded online franchise. If those two are up to par I could easily see M12 competing with those other games in my consoles rather than losing out to them. Here's to hoping

# 224 N51_rob @ 02/15/11 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grunt


	Madden 11 is a good game after the patches.

I borrowed this last week from a friend. I didn't play it pre-patch 5. I agree with this statment. Here is the problem. I couldn't finish a game. I was bored in the 3rd quarters of games. Ended up quitting games to play NBA 2k11 or NCAA.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

# 225 Old Mr T @ 02/15/11 11:40 PM

I only play two sports games, football and soccer.

PES and FIFA create great soccer options, but football has only one option and that's a shame.

Prior to the exclusive agreement, I always preferred Madden over 2K. Madden '04 and '05 were superb products, so much work clearly went into them (franchise and gameplay), so they kept me happy for ages.

Since the exclusive agreement the quality has dropped off, and although I can still enjoy the game to some extent, it doesn't feel like video game football has moved forward since '05. Previous gen features have been removed and then added bit by bit. That's really poor in my opinion.

What does an extra year mean to me? No significant improvement in terms of gameplay I guess.

# 226 dickey1331 @ 02/16/11 12:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grunt


	We are lucky to have Madden 11. The business model have changed. I don't think there are too many companies that would produce a license football game. There were only 2 viable professional football games at the time of the EA/NFL deal. How many people purchased NFL Fever, Quarterback Club, Gameday, or even NFL 2k2, 2k3, and 2k4. Consumers didn't support multiple football games. We nitpick these games and brand loyalty dominated the market. Most didn't even buy 2k football games before 19.99 price drop. I remember how so many here defended the EA/NFL deal now EA is the great devil. Sport gamers will have one hockey game, baseball game, football game, and basketball game. We can't blame EA/NFL for the rise of FPS and the decline of sport games. PS Madden 11 is a good game after the patches.

I agree. Sports games are going away, the way we had it in the past isnt going to come back.

# 227 juicer420 @ 02/16/11 12:17 AM

Bummer, my hope wasn't for 2K to be back in the fold necessarily. I'm hoping that when this exclusive license ends, Sony makes a PS3 exclusive NFL game, much like MLB the Show.

Anything with a physics engine would be good enough.

# 228 maddenps2 @ 02/16/11 01:34 AM

I'm excited to see the "suprise onside kick" feature.

# 229 daniverson1973 @ 02/16/11 01:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dickey1331


	I agree. Sports games are going away, the way we had it in the past isnt going to come back.

???? LMAO--really???

NoWay, not as much money as they make, 'Sports games are not going anywhere'...they'll continue to be repeated on annual basis by developers with improvements hopefully

# 230 dickey1331 @ 02/16/11 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniverson1973


	???? LMAO--really??? NoWay, not as much money as they make, 'Sports games are not going anywhere'...they'll continue to be repeated on annual basis by developers with improvements hopefully

I wasent saying sports games wont exist but there wont be multiple options to chose from like it used to be. We have 1 NFL, 1 NCAA Football, 0 NCAA Basketball, 1 NBA (assuming EA doesnt come back), 2 Baseball (If you have a PS3), 2 Soccer, 2 NHL (assuming 2K comes back).

# 231 bkrich83 @ 02/16/11 04:25 AM

A bummer for sure but not surprising. It's not that I really thought Madden was a bad game. Like someone else mentioned it was boring. It just never really held my attention.

I'll probably do what I did this year. Pick up and play Madden for the occasional game for a little fun, and spend most of my football gaming time playing text sims. I am really having fun replaying past Chargers seasons with Second And Ten football.

Also like this past year, I will probably just keep playing The Show well in to football season.

It's disappointing the deal was extended but really doesn't affect me that much as I can find other things to keep my attention.

# 232 blackscorpion11 @ 02/16/11 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by videlsports


	Time to get college Lock down for 2k... take 2 needs to something now... this is just crazy.. GET THE COLLEGE LISCENCE.. YOU CANNOT just survive on The NBA and Tennis. Soon your baseball contract will run out.. SMH at this..

excellent point, these bastards WILL go after ALL sports if left unchecked.. They are the ESPN of video gaming

# 233 blackscorpion11 @ 02/16/11 08:22 AM

Quality is the reason i still play APF2K8 , I stopped buying madden 3 years ago.. I dont need nfl teams, just good football..Keeping an eye out for backbreaker sequel..or a game from another source

# 234 blackscorpion11 @ 02/16/11 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grunt


	We are lucky to have Madden 11. The business model have changed. I don't think there are too many companies that would produce a license football game. There were only 2 viable professional football games at the time of the EA/NFL deal. How many people purchased NFL Fever, Quarterback Club, Gameday, or even NFL 2k2, 2k3, and 2k4. Consumers didn't support multiple football games. We nitpick these games and brand loyalty dominated the market. Most didn't even buy 2k football games before 19.99 price drop. I remember how so many here defended the EA/NFL deal now EA is the great devil. Sport gamers will have one hockey game, baseball game, football game, and basketball game. We can't blame EA/NFL for the rise of FPS and the decline of sport games. PS Madden 11 is a good game after the patches.

wrong, i had all of those games back in the day..i had 2 versions of qb club... Having a choice was better.

# 235 Jistic @ 02/16/11 08:53 AM

Who cares? I haven't bought Madden in years. It's a GF rental for a week, then I laugh at how horrible it is and go back to NCAA again until it becomes boring again as well.

The good news with Tiburon football sucking so bad the last 5 years is it's turned me on to other games that I would've ignored because I was so wrapped up in football.

Madden is like a bad relationship with a girl. Just break up and stay away. You will move on and you will be better off without her, but you've got to give it a chance.

# 236 kehlis @ 02/16/11 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackscorpion11


	wrong, i had all of those games back in the day..i had 2 versions of qb club... Having a choice was better.

He's not wrong. You are one person, you don't represent consumers as a whole.

Nowhere did he say no one supported multiple games.

# 237 TheShizNo1 @ 02/16/11 08:58 AM

I'm glad they extended it. Madden is awesome and other football games pale in comparison to it. Now this gives EA even more motivation to keep putting out great games for their customers. Madden 12 is gonna rock!

# 238 Rocky @ 02/16/11 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheShizNo1


	I'm glad they extended it. Madden is awesome and other football games pale in comparison to it. Now this gives EA even more motivation to keep putting out great games for their customers. Madden 12 is gonna rock!

# 239 videlsports @ 02/16/11 10:46 AM

With the NFL/ NCAA reupping their contract with EA, the only hope for football gamers is for a really good Custom made Video game by a competitor, one with presentation etc, Maybe focusing on Gamplay, presentation, and tatics(playbooks, hot routes etc). Or for Ea to listen and make changers gamers want to hear. (But with surprise onside Kicks staring as a feature Not looking good So far). I will buy NCAA, because it's a good game, but I still think 2k could make a better one.

# 240 debauchlord @ 02/16/11 10:47 AM

Whether this is good or bad is not the point; the point is that if EA did not hold the license, then guess who would? Activision; there are no other developers that can come close to affording the license fees to the NFL AND the NFLPA. Do you people want Activision making a football game? We are at a money point where the actual game is secondary to marketing. There is too much money involved here. EA will continue to renew the license as long as the NFL exists. It is all about money. Stop using monopoly, please....those are used for companies that control resources, not entertainment. Sony has a "monopoly" on Spider-Man? Warner Brothers has a monoploy on batman?

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