Ahead Of Madden 21, NFL Will Vote On EA Remaining Its Exclusive Simulation Game Dev

EA Sports and the NFL are going to extend their deal to keep making more Madden games for years to come. That's according to a report from Sports Business Daily and information from Albert Breer of MMBQ (see the tweet below). They both say the NFL owners will vote this week to give EA exclusive rights to making simulation football games through the 2025 season. According to the reports, the new deal could extend to the 2026 NFL season if the game series reaches "certain revenue goals."

The deal between EA and the NFL will also reportedly give the game developer non-exclusive rights to arcade-style NFL games in addition to "embedded companion apps/modes." EA's deal with the NFL is currently set to expire at the end of the 2021 season.

This new deal comes not long after the NFL and Take-Two reached their own deal for non-simulation NFL games. 2K's first new NFL game under its own contract won't be released for some time. EA remains the only company that can develop officially licensed simulation football games.

2K Sports hasn't published a football game in years, but it used to release the NFL 2K series, which was a simulation franchise. However, EA later snapped up the exclusive rights. If 2K is ever going to get back into the simulation football market, it won't be for at least five years.

The meeting of NFL owners will take place on May 28.

Madden NFL 21 is due to launch later this year, featuring Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson on its cover. The game has so far only been confirmed for Xbox One and Xbox Series X, but it's also expected to release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. EA has teased that more details on Madden NFL 21 will be announced on June 1.