Exclusivity - was it worth it?

[eldogg]

i thought i heard mention a long time ago that ea was bugging the nfl about giving them the exclusive license before they actually did.

[Cebby]

It was worth it. The NFL auctioned off the license.

"A source close to the negotiations said it was at a spring 2004 off-site meeting attended by top NFL officials that the league determined it would take the league license exclusive. GameSpot was told the league put the license up for bid and that EA was among as many as five software publishers competing for it."

It was either exclusive or no NFL.

[maddenps2]

Quote: Originally Posted by The Soldier

It was worth it. The NFL auctioned off the license. "A source close to the negotiations said it was at a spring 2004 off-site meeting attended by top NFL officials that the league determined it would take the league license exclusive. GameSpot was told the league put the license up for bid and that EA was among as many as five software publishers competing for it." It was either exclusive or no NFL.

I don't trust internet quotes. Or anything really involving this deal. Imo EA cued the NFL that they wanted to buy exclusivity. The NFL jumped at the money. EA knew no one else would be able to match their offer. So imo the "sale" was already decided before it happened.

[LIGHTNING]

The sales are only increasing about 7% year over year which is way down from five years ago. This is a sign that some people are getting bored with the game and not buying it every year.

[burnwood]

Quote: Originally Posted by maddenps2

I don't trust internet quotes. Or anything really involving this deal. Imo EA cued the NFL that they wanted to buy exclusivity. The NFL jumped at the money. EA knew no one else would be able to match their offer. So imo the "sale" was already decided before it happened.

Pretty much par for the course in corporate America. Scenarios happen like this everyday.

Here's one:

You're working an IT contract which is contract to hire. At the end of the contract they want to hire you BUT they legally have to post the job and interview candidates. In the end, you get hired anyway because they're already familiar with you. This has happened to me at least 4 times.

[grunt]

Quote: Originally Posted by bears5122

It's a tough question. The increase in sales is really not much, especially considering they are selling on many more platforms these days. Throw in the fact they have really cranked up advertising since 2005 and you have to wonder if it is really worth the huge investment for the license. On paper it would seem that it hasn't helped out much. But what the numbers don't show is what would happen if they didn't get the exclusive license. Would 2K have surpassed them and become the football game? Would hardcore sim gamers shifted toward 2K and left Madden with the non-sim gamers? So considering they elminated all competition, the move could be considered good from their perspective. My guess is the only people that know this answer are the heads at EA. Considering how poorly the company has done of late financially, I'd wager they could be second guessing some of their decisions.

Great post. I don't see how EA strategy in growing Madden in sales to justify the exclusive deals with NFL and ESPN.

[rudyjuly2]

Quote: Originally Posted by countryboy

every year since the exclusive deal was signed we have discussed this topic, and it turns into a pissing match between to the 2k fans and the Madden fans. I wonder if this year will be any different? Unfortunately you could debate this until you are blue in the face and nothing would change. Madden would still have the deal, and people would be complaining about it. So lets just end this topic before it gets out of hand. EA and Madden stinks. They stole the license, lets all hate EA. There job is done. I motion that on this date in 2008 we convene to explore this topic again. At that time we will once again view the sales numbers and all conclude that EA/Madden sucks and that they stole the NFL license. Until then I am going to go play Madden '08. See you in a year.

Co-sign (except I'll be playing NCAA).

[driddy]

Yeah, oh yeah the NCAA put themselves up for bid also, as did ESPN, and arena football. Man, those EA guys sure seem to end up in the right spot at the right time. Lucky bastards, I've seen that in sales, a sales guy gets hot and companies come out of the woodwork offering exclusive deals....

Seriously though, the fact that we have a thread where a poster tells us to just "enjoy" madden for what it is, and we have websites whose "neutral" reviewers are hosting Madden competitions the week the game comes out, and the fact that we have websites touting how good it is for EA to have exclusivity while EA ads pop up on every other page has really hurt sports gaming. Thankfully we have companies willing to fight this out by offering alternatives, but it's a bit like the Spartans against the Persian army at this point. No matter how much work they put into fighting, its inevitable since Madden fans will ignore the flaws of Madden and not hold EA accountable.