Hey guys, i read a few replies in this thread from a few guys stating the NFL and EA keeps renewing the NFL Exclusive deal, that's not true...the deal between EA and the NFL back in 2004 was for a 15 year deal. So it ends in less than 2 years from today, which is good news because i honestly don't think the NFL will continue on with the exclusive deal as the NFL lost money because of this deal...there's no doubt about it with the amount of people into technlogy today, including the amount of people gaming these days is a multidue more than back in 2004. There is simply more money to be made by NFL not going exclusive again.
Anyways, here is an article from gamestop back from 2004 announcing the 15 year deal between the NFL and EA Sports.
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Electronic Arts, ESPN ink exclusive 15-year deal
September 19, 2005
Electronic Arts broke the calm of a national holiday today by announcing a licensing deal of epic proportions. For the next 15 years, EA will be the sole licensee of the ESPN brand in the area of sports games, which will include console, handheld, PC, and wireless games.
Rest of article here https://www.gamespot.com/articles/el.../1100-6116473/ |
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There has been some continued renewing of the license over the years though between the NFL and EA, but that was not for the base portion of the "exclusive deal" but rather adjusting some things within the deal itself. One of them being the NFL wanting to remove mobile phones out of the exclusive deal some years ago, right when the NFL finally began to see how much money they were actually losing with the deal with EA. The amount of people with smartphones that skyrocketed since 2010 onward has skyrocketed and there is a HUGE userbase of guys young and old that may not be a hardcore gamer like most of us here that still would like to play some mobile based NFL licensed games, not necessarily full fledged football videogames like Madden but the more mobile oriented football-related games like kick the football through the field goal type games,etc...the audience for such NFL licensed mobile games is HUGE to the casual/non-hardcore gamer, they dwarf the more hardcore gamers, by a long shot.
So yeah, its my opinion that the NFL will no longer go exclusive with video games starting in 2020. Doesn't mean im right and it'll happen but if i were a betting man, i'd bet on it, for sure.