EA Sports look to be making their first major moves since parting ways with FIFA, with a huge deal for the Premier League rights worth in the region of £500m reportedly on the cards.
It was a sad day when we learned that the FIFA franchise that we had known and loved for, well, basically our whole lives was set to come to an end. But that’s life; things change and it goes on, and that’s very much the case for EA Sports, with Sky Sports reporting that the video-games maker is looking to sign off on a huge commercial deal with the Premier League that’d be worth about £488m – more than double the existing deal involving the two parties.
Following a meeting with all 20 Premier League sides, one club executive said “it would deliver more than £80m annually, and would consist of EA remaining as the league's lead partner as well as retaining its exclusive electronic game licence.”
It’s further evidence of the financial power of the Premier league and its dominance over the other European leagues. You start to see why the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus are so keen on the Super League.
Commenting on the reports, a spokesman from EA said: "We don't comment on details of commercial relationships, or discussions with our partners. 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.”
As well as the Premier League, EA Sports will also be working on deals with a number of other partners, with Nike already signed up.
No smoke without fire. A case of watch this space…
