Here is what depresses me, and I hope you'll forgive the sound of pained resignation in my voice: it makes me feel like an old and cranky gamer to bring up the time when there were multiple NFL games on the market. Do you remember those magical times? Different series were on the shelves, 2K Sports was awesome, there were arcade football games… it was glorious. Every one of them had NFL players and jerseys, and it was just great. Then, in 2004, EA put a stop to it by signing a five-year agreement to lock down the NFL: only EA could use NFL teams and players in its games. Thus began the reign of Madden. Why did it reign? Because you couldn't buy anything else. At least we're almost done with those five years, right?
Don't be silly. EA has just announced that it has signed a new deal with the NFL, extending the exclusivity agreement into 2013 and taking us to the end of the 2012 season. Five more years with no competitors. Financial terms, the announcement tells us, were not disclosed. You don't say.
