Keep in mind that 2K had to steal pretty much everything there was in Madden in the first place.
Madden was like AT&T. They did all the hard work running phone lines all over the country, then other companies got to come in and use them for free and steal customers.
I applaud Madden's business sense by coming in and shutting off the welfare by ponying up and paying for the licensing rights.
I'd rather have 10 games to choose from, but EA made a smart business decision and I won't fault them for that.