FIFA 23 – even without the FIFA licence, EA can still use players, teams, and clubs thanks to its many other partnerships (pic: EA)



For £488 million, EA will be able to use the Premier League licence in its EA Sports FC games for another six years.



EA has already released its last FIFA game, after giving up the name and licence , but it will still launch a new football title this autumn, only this time it will be called EA Sports FC .



It will no longer be able to use the FIFA name or feature the World Cup but relatively little else will change in terms of licensing, with deals for individual teams, kits, and stadia having nothing to do with FIFA.



One such partnership is reportedly holding fast, as it’s said EA is finalising a renewal of its deal with the Premier League, for just shy of £500 million.



This deal will supposedly last for six years and is worth about £488 million, with one Premier League club executive saying it will deliver more than £80 million annually.



Interestingly, it’s believed this renewal is more than double what EA was originally paying. And yet that’s supposed to be the problem EA was escaping with the FIFA organisation, who reportedly wanted to double their licence fee to more than $1 billion (£830 million) for a four-year extension.



That’s according to EA, though, which also claimed that the renewed deal would’ve placed limitations on what EA could do with the FIFA licence.



While neither the Premier League or EA have commented on their partnership, Sky News ’ report makes no mention of any alterations to it beyond the increased fee.



What’s more, EA will retain exclusive rights to the Premier League’s electronic game licence, meaning only EA will be allowed to use the league’s clubs in its video games.



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Presumably, EA is also working hard to extend partnerships with other football organisations, such as Spain’s La Liga and Germany’s Bundesliga.



In an old blog post , EA promised that everything fans know and love about the FIFA games will remain in EA Sports FC, saying, ‘Our unique licensing portfolio of more than 19,000+ players, 700+ teams, 100+ stadiums and 30 leagues that we’ve continued to invest in for decades will still be there, uniquely in EA Sports FC.’









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