Madden NFL is here to stay. Electronic Arts (EA) and the NFL have agreed to a licensing deal to continue the Madden franchise through at least the 2030 season.
This new deal will also keep the league’s license exclusive to EA Sports.
Insider Gaming was the first to report in July that an agreement was in place between EA and the NFL. At the time, it was expected that an announcement would come by the end of the year. It was known that it was a multi-year deal for “more money in the history of the league’s gaming license”, but Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team was the first to report on the actual length.
When the deal was being negotiated, EA had made it known to the league that they were looking to give up exclusivity. The belief was that no other studio would likely try and compete with them right away, leaving them still with de facto exclusivity, similar to what they have with the EA Sports NHL series. The NFL, however, preferred to keep the exclusive agreement intact and was considering negotiating with other studios to make it so.
EA ultimately agreed on the NFL’s request, and the deal was finalized shortly after that.
As far as the timing of the announcement, many parties were ready to reveal it around the start of the 2025 NFL season. However, sources say that the negotiations and eventual agreement to sell EA and take it private led to a holdup on anything being signed and made official. Once that deal was announced, work began again on getting everything finalized.
What do you think of EA and the NFL continuing their 20+ year exclusive arrangement for Madden NFL? Leave your thoughts down in the comments, and join the official Insider Gaming Discord server.
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