FIFA Will Sell EA Its Naming Rights For $1 Billion For Four Years
But EA might not pay.
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EA signaled soon after the release of FIFA 22 that the next iteration of the nearly 30-year-old franchise might not be called FIFA. In a press release, EA explained that it was “reviewing our naming rights agreement with FIFA,” which opens the possibility that an agreement might not be reached at all.
Now thanks to a report from The New York Times, we’re getting a better sense of what the disagreement is about. According to the Times, talks to renew FIFA’s naming rights contract “have hit the wall,” with multiple sources claiming that EA and FIFA are far apart on several key issues.
The biggest one is naturally about money. FIFA wants more than double what it receives currently for having its name plastered on the front of each year’s game, which brings its price tag to over $1 billion for four years. Although FIFA makes EA a lot of money, a billion dollars would be a serious cut from EA’s profits.
Other pain points in the ongoing negotiations revolve around the scope of the contract. FIFA wants the deal to be just for its name, logo, and the World Cup. This would leave FIFA free to explore other licensing deals for things like video clips, game tournaments, and NFTs. EA wants all that stuff to remain inside the FIFA games ecosystem, which might limit FIFA’s potential growth.
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The report says to expect a decision by the end of the year, but at this point, EA is already planning for an ugly breakup by filing trademarks for potential new names.
A break between FIFA and EA would undoubtedly be bad for business, but EA seems pretty confident it can weather whatever storm such a break would produce–likely because there’s really no competition. There’s Konami’s eFootball, but so far that’s turned out to be 2021’s biggest disaster story.
EA just recently concluded negotiations with FIFPRO, so even if FIFA pulls the plug, EA will still be able to use football players’ names and likenesses for the foreseeable future.
Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/fifa-naming-rights-ea-1-billion/