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There is a virtual war between leagues on the eSports front, with Madden and 2K going head to head. The NFL variant has been lambasted by sports fans for not being as good as its NBA counterpart.
A fan who has used both began the whole discussion by saying:
"The switch from Madden franchise to NBA Franchise is so over whelming [sic]."
They also added that they were so disappointed with the NFL version, they hoped that the rights to it would go to 2K in the future. They further commented:
"It makes you ponder on how much effort EA is putting into franchise. 2k should really get the rights to Madden."
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It set off a reaction with many people agreeing that EA have given up on making their version as good as the NBA version. Many said that it had been more than one-and-a-half decades since a good iteration came out. Others, if less unkind, were no less forgiving. Here is a selection of some of the best responses.
NFL's dependence on EA for Madden instead of looking at 2K
At the heart of all these complaints was the wish that the NFL would give 2K a chance instead of EA to produce Madden. Unfortunately, there is a contract at least until 2025, which can be extended to 2026, which gives EA the exclusive rights to the official NFL game.
The deal is a huge income generator to the NFL, reportedly paying the league a billion dollars and another half a billion to the players. There is an additional half a billion allocated for marketing. With these kinds of numbers, it is no surprise that the league is not looking anywhere else.
There was a time until 2005, when 2K used to produce its own version. Since that year, however, with exclusivity being granted to EA's Madden, they have not been able to produce any iterations. Their last competing video game in football was ESPN NFL 2K5.
Until the bidding process is opened up again or someone challenges the exclusivity clause, there is unlikely to be any movement by the NFL towards 2K. However, a situation could exist like it does in the soccer eSports environment, with FIFA by EA competing with WE-PES and pushing each other for better innovations.
Ulimately, there has to be way for 2K, or any other developer to get past any names. likeness, or any other issues that infringe the exclusivity deal with EA. If that challenge does not arise, EA can easily coast on its laurels.
