The NFL labor dispute won’t keep Madden 12 from hitting stores, even if the upcoming season is cancelled as the union and owners battle it out. This same dispute isn’t going to muck up business in the year 2013, either, if a Sports Business Journal Daily report is to be believed. According to this report, EA has received a one-year extension on its exclusive agreement with the NFL extending into 2013, as well as an unspecified bit of financial relief from the nine-figure exclusivity deal as a result of the ongoing labor uncertainty.
The money here is speculative, but as the Sports Journal points out, back in October, The Wall Street Journal reported that EA sought around a 30 million dollar reduction in its dues to the NFL because of the looming labor lockout. Madden, as fans well know, is updated often with roster changes and such, and those offerings will certainly take a hit if no actual NFL games are played in 2012.
But, really, this doesn’t mean much to the Madden fan--EA has secured another year and there will be a new Madden game in the coming months and on into, at least, 2013. Also, the lock-up of another year of exclusivity means that there’s zero chance a new NFL 2K game will see the light of day within the next couple of years, a bummer for all those 2K5 fans who are still all about that last, great offering.