NFL and EA Sports extend exclusive Madden video game partnership

• EA Sports has held exclusive rights to the NFL since 2004
• NFL content to appear in College Football series
• New York Giants valued at US$10.3bn in transaction

The National Football League (NFL) has agreed a multi-year extension of its exclusive video game licensing agreement with EA Sports.

The multi-year agreement allows EA to continue using official NFL players, teams, branding and other intellectual property in its long-running and hugely successful Madden franchise.

The exclusive element of the partnership prevents any other publisher or developer from licensing the NFL in an action simulation game based on American football.

The expanded deal will see the NFL support content and experiences in EA Sports College Football, which was relaunched in 2023 to great success. EA will also assist the league in other fan engagement opportunities, such as the ‘Madden NFL Cast’, which digitally recreated real life action within the game engine.

“EA Sports and the NFL have built one of the most iconic partnerships in all of sports and entertainment, and we see so much opportunity ahead to deliver for football fans everywhere,” said Cam Weber, EA Sports president. “With more than 2 billion games of Madden NFL played each year, the global community of football fans connecting through play has never been bigger. Together with the NFL, we will continue to shape the interactive future of football – expanding Madden NFL, growing College Football, and creating new breakthrough experiences for the next generation of fans.”

“Madden NFL has become one of the most widely recognised and culturally relevant gaming franchises in the world,” said Renie Anderson, chief revenue officer at the NFL. “As we look to this new chapter in our partnership with EA Sports, our focus remains on the success of NFL simulation gameplay and providing our fans with the best entertainment and experiences around the sport they love.”

The NFL has also granted approval to Julia Koch’s acquisition of a ten per cent stake in the New York Giants, valuing the franchise at US$10.3 billion. The deal, which had to be signed off by three quarters of team owners, represents the highest valuation of any stake sale since the league approved plans for private equity investment in individual franchises.

Credit: https://www.sportspro.com/news/nfl-ea-sports-madden-video-game-extension-october-2025/