If you like video games and football, you’d better like the Madden NFL series as well, because that’s the only franchise the league will allow to boast games that include authentic teams and players.

Extending a deal that started in 2005, the NFL added a year to its deal with EA and reduced the fees it collects from the video game publisher, reports SportsBusiness Journal Daily. EA asked the NFL to lower payments it owed by $30 million last year due to uncertainty from the league’s impending lockout.

The deal now goes through 2013, and EA has a separate agreement with the NFL Players Association that runs through 2012, meaning you won’t be launching any length-of-the-field Tecmo Bowl passes from Payton Manning any time soon.

If you play video game football, what do you think of the Madden games and the exclusivity deal?

NFL gives EA a break [SportsBusiness Journal Daily via Destructoid]

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