For nearly 20 years, when it comes to simulation football games, there is only one option: EA Sports and Madden NFL. EA has had an exclusive license agreement with the NFL since December 2004, making the Madden franchise the sole game in town. Sure, there have been other football games since then, but nothing like what was around in the early 2000s when fans had games like NFL Fever and NFL 2K as alternatives to Madden. But now, as the exclusive contract between EA and the NFL gets close to the end of the current agreement, many have been wondering whether that’s about to change.
The current deal was signed as an extension back in 2020 for $1.5 billion, and it goes through the 2025 season. There is an option to extend it by a year through 2026 if target revenue was hit, and, by all estimations, that target has been. So what we’re looking at is a contract that expires in two years.
That two year window is the same point in time when EA and the NFL announced their last extension of the Madden license. So, where is the current one?
Talks Are Ongoing
Sources have indicated to Insider Gaming that discussions between EA and the NFL have been on-going regarding the future of the game and the license. It’s said that talks began later than in the past for a variety of reasons, including concern from the league if remaining exclusive with one company was the best option.
The league has been well aware of the public reception to the franchise the past few years. And one thing they don’t like is when the shield is viewed in any sort of negative light. That meant there was added pressure from not only within EA to deliver but from the NFL as well.
After the issues that plagued Madden 23, last year’s Madden 24 was viewed as a make-or-break game from all aspects. Internally, it wasn’t going to just come down to how much money the game made in initial sales, but how well it did in retaining players throughout the year.
The game ultimately “exceeded all expectations” in terms of both revenue and player base. Through July 2024, 11 months after the game’s release, Madden 24 remained a top 10 game on both Xbox and PlayStation in weekly average users (WAU). While Madden Ultimate Team is a big reason for that, the internal belief is that if the game “wasn’t good at all” people would’ve left by then. Sources went as far to say that Madden 24 was felt by many as a “turning point” for the franchise with a “feeling that Madden 25 will kickstart things in a bigger way”.
How Confident Is EA?
Going back to the contract discussions, many who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the nature of the subject say that they believe an agreement on a new contract will come within the next 12-18 months.
“We have no reason to believe we won’t still have the exclusive license,” said one source.
Another said, “At the end of the day, Madden is making more and more money each year for both EA and the NFL. The sales continue to go up, and it would be crazy to not have the deal continue.”
Of course, there is the idea that Madden’s numbers are only what they are because of the exclusive license. Fans who want to play as their favorite NFL team or player really have no other choice if they want a realistic game.
“That’s just the way it is right now. What do they want us to say?” one person with EA said, adding that they don’t mean anything negative by it.
Every source who spoke was adamant, though, that the developers care about what the players want. They aren’t just trying to get by with each game. They are actively doing what they can in the time they have between releases.
“We honestly do want players to love the game each year,” one said. “We know we aren’t going to make everyone happy, but our goal with each game is to make it better than the last and have more people enjoy it than the year before. People can believe what they want, but we really do care about the game we are putting out there.”
As far as the possibility of losing the exclusive rights to allow more simulation games from competitors, I was told, “It’s not impossible, but there’s honestly no way someone else could compete with us for the rest of this generation and possibly into the next one due to the timing of the deal and how long it takes to make a game like this.
“We’re not worried.”
Neither EA nor the NFL returned multiple requests for official comment on the state of the agreement and negotiations.
What do you think of the likelihood of EA and the NFL extending their current license agreement for Madden? For more Insider Gaming, read about the latest crossover coming to Dead by Daylight.
I thought 2K had some rights? Would rather NFL 2K come back. I heard WWE and UFC are going to go through the same thing with 2K and EA respectively.
2K has the rights to non-simulation NFL games. Back in April, 2K released NFL Playmakers, a F2P mobile card collecting game.
So, they do have recent experience with the NFL. Should the league decide not to extend their exclusive deal with EA they could relaunch their NFL game we last saw in 2005. Since the current exclusive deal doesn’t end for two years, IMO the EA exec’s just flat wrong that there isn’t another company that could compete with them. EA launched CFB 25 in roughly two years, and arguably that game’s a bigger task because there were far more teams and athletes for EA to deal with to get that game out the door. Whether 2K would be interested, who knows.
If they lose it will EA finally bring back Def Jam, Fight Night, and SSX? A proper Skate 4 too.
I started playing on Madden 11 on the Wii and Xbox 360. From there I got Madden 16 on the Xbox 360 and the game was significantly worse in depth and gameplay. After the disaster that was Madden 20, I stopped buying the game as it became pointless to pay $70 dollars for a roster update and small gameplay improvements that can easily be put as a patch to the previous game. I am honestly glad that there is no talk of extension because I want there to be competition and the best game rises to the top. However, this is not directed at EA the company, this is directed at the higher ups at EA to do something about this broken game and improve the franchise and gameplay fields farther than adding “new hezis” and marketing “authentic rookie headscans” as a feature. I hope that the threat of losing the exclusive license kicks their butt in gear and improves the game beyond a roster update. Otherwise, I would like to see another AAA studio try to make the next NFL game.
For the love of all that is good, DONT LET EA HAVE MADDEN ANYMORE!!
Competition is a good thing, something EA and the NFL continues to suppress. The fans should be the most important entity in all of this because we choose to support both but are only allowed one option at nfl simulation. Stop restricting our interests and cancel these exclusive rights contracts !
Please NFL make this GAME GOOD AGAIN EA lost there way with this game I say fire everybody who has an input in this game and hire the people from the 90s and early 2000s ?????
Please NFL, drop the exclusivity agreement with EA Madden NFL!