Next week, NFL owners are set to vote on a five-year extension with EA Sports. Should the vote go in favor of Electronic Arts, EA can continue to produce officially licensed NFL games for another five years.
NFL Owners Voting on EA Sports Five-Year Extension
Given the extension, Madden NFL titles would run through the 2026 season for a total of seven years. Albert Breer of SI.com regarded the deal as a “ratification”. It can be assumed a deal has been negotiated between the NFL and EA. All that is left is for the NFL owners to sign off on the agreement.
However, this is not expected to infringe on the deal between 2K and the NFL made earlier this year. As of now, 2K can still produce non-simulation football video games. EA and its sports division have had the exclusive rights to produce licensed simulation football games for about 16 years. A five year extension will only widen the gap between EA and 2K NFL related content. This has not gone over well with all fans.
Since being the flagship and only licensed football game producer, EA has made questionable decisions with the franchise. Many still enjoy the game and play the popular Madden Ultimate Teams mode. However, it has also been criticized for it microtransactions and unpopular decision to be built on the Frostbite engine.
It is not clear as to what 2K will create with its own license, but a five year extension for EA Sports almost guarantees a revival of the NFL 2K series is dead in the water.
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