Madden NFL is a license well known to video game and NFL fans. And the series, produced by publisher EA Sports, is here to stay. Having already had exclusive rights for 20 years, EA Sports reached an agreement with the league to extend the exclusivity. According to PFT, the agreement covers several additional years.
We will therefore have to wait to see a game other than Madden in the NFL slot.
Madden, the monopoly to the detriment (sometimes) of quality
Exclusivity has good and bad. The fact that EA Sports has no rival in Madden sometimes pushes them to try less. Fans criticize them, among other things, for the lack of real innovation and lack of realism in the racing game. However, the franchise remains a very successful license with no less than 1.4 million copies of Madden NFL 26 sold in less than 24 hours upon the game's release.
Like the NBA2k license for basketball (the last game other than Madden was NFL2k5) or EA Sports FC for football (soccer), the lack of competition purchased with large amounts of greenbacks can only harm the overall user experience. However, as long as sales are there, publishers will have no reason to change a winning recipe.
