Report: EA Close to Finalizing Deal With English Premier League

Pictured: A screenshot of the last game to bear the FIFA brand, FIFA 23. Credit: EA Sports.

Electronic Arts is getting closer to finalizing a deal with UK football league English Premier League, according to a report from Sky Sports. According to that report, the deal would be for six years and cost around £488M ($592M USD) if finalized.

The story’s authenticity was validated in part by a briefing that happened on Friday with 20 Premier League clubs. One club executive (who was not identified) told Sky Sports that the deal was worth “£80m annually” (roughly $97.1M), and that EA Sports would remain the “league’s lead partner” and retain an exclusive electronic game license.

In May of 2022, rumors began to surface that EA’s long-running partnership with international league FIFA would be coming to an end and its FIFA series—which it had developed for more than three decades—would be rebranded as “EA Sports FC.” The split would be confirmed later that month, and the fact that both companies had spent several months trying to renegotiate a new deal, to no avail. In September of 2022 it released the final iteration of the game bearing the FIFA name, FIFA 23. The reason for the split, according to some reports, was that FIFA decided to raise its licensing fee from $150M to $250M a year.

The Esports Advocate will continue to follow this story as it develops.