History says you're correct about many, but not all. I purchased 1 release last gen ('07 or '08) that I later returned siting excessive bugs, and got another 2 releases from attending CDs. I've not owned Madden in 4 years, and haven't played a single down in 2 years. 3 releases in 10 years, and from someone that owned every release from the very 1st on Commodore 64 ('89?) to 2004 on the PS2.
The numbers say others feel the same way. Like Only1LT said, the industry is growing. I'd bet that baseball and basketball video game sales are growing with it. Sales of the game representing the most popular sport in America going down has to say something.
But yeah, until more folks tighten their pockets, Madden will look like this.
And the rest of us, except AH32, thinks EA is selling actual NFL games on disk.