EA and the Premier League reportedly ready to sign a £488 million partnership deal
The English Premier League and EA are reportedly ready to sign a huge £488 million deal that will the existing partnership between the pair continue for as many as six more years.
It's reported that EA is willing to pay around £488 million to the Premier League, a deal that one executive reportedly told Sky Sports would see EA hand over more than £80 annually. The deal is also worth more than double that of the previous one.
Once signed, the deal will «consist of EA remaining as the league's lead partner as well as retaining its exclusive electronic game licence.» The EA logo currently finds its way into all facets of the Premier League, not least taking pride of place on referee shirts and numerous other high-profile locations.
The new deal comes at a time when EA is getting ready to launch its first FIFA game without actually being able to call it FIFA. The franchise has carried the FIFA moniker for a long, long time — since 1993, to be exact — but a breakdown in the relationship between the sport's governing body and EA means that 2023's iteration will be called EA Sports FC. The name might be less than inspiring, but the company maintains that gamers will notice very little change.
That's thanks to deals like this one with the Premier League. VGC points out that Spain's LaLiga has also signed a similar deal that will see “a complete rebrand of LaLiga with EA SPORTS including all logos, graphics, fonts, and other visual elements.”
FIFA is said to have signed more than 300 licensing deals to ensure that, while FIFA 23 is the last game of its name, it won't be the last one that people rush to buy. The FIFA games have become a staple of many a game collection and it'll be interesting to see how EA Sports FC stacks up
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