13 February 2023 , 12:47
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EA Sports is reportedly closing in on a big-money deal with the Premier League that would see EA Sports FC granted an exclusive licence.
According to Sky Sports, all twenty Premier League clubs were briefed last week that a new six-year deal between the lucrative football league and EA Sports had been struck, with the agreement reportedly worth a whopping £488m, ahead of the launch of their new flagship title EA Sports FC. The reported figure is understood to be worth more than double what the current deal is worth, with the partnership set to rake in over £80m annually.
Last year, it was announced that EA and FIFA's 30-year partnership would be coming to an end after the release of FIFA 23, with EA Sports confirming their plans to continue making their own football game called EA Sports FC. FIFA responded by claiming they will make a football game of their own, though details have been scarce.
Following reports of the rumoured deal with the Premier League, EA Sports has provided a comment to Mirror Gaming.
“We don’t comment on details of commercial relationships, or discussions with our partners," An EA Sports spokesperson told Mirror Gaming.
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"We’re proud to have a long-standing partnership with the Premier League and its clubs, and appreciate their support in our plans for EA SPORTS FC. We have nothing to announce today.”
With EA Sports moving away from the FIFA series, many fans wondered whether EA Sports FC would hold the same licensing power. But, this reported deal between EA Sports and the Premier League would give EA Sports FC a big jump on any potential competition from FIFA, or other competitors like UFL and Goals, in the future.
Around £815 million was spent by Premier League clubs in the recent January transfer window, proving that it has unmatched financial power, even compared with other top leagues around Europe. Other leagues such as La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga cannot compete with the Premier League financially, so from a commercial standpoint, it seems obvious that EA Sports is reportedly willing to pay such a huge fee for an exclusive license for its new game.
EA Sports is one of the Premier League's lead partners and has been since 2016, with the current deal giving them full licensing rights to use the Premier League in their current FIFA titles.
Last year, EA was confirmed as the official La Liga title sponsor from the start of the 2023/24 season, a deal that will see a total re-brand of La Liga including all logos, graphics, fonts and other visual elements. There are still some unanswered questions in regard to the upcoming release of EA Sports FC, but we expect the game to be released later this year.