NYT: FIFA Wanted More Than Billion Dollars From EA Sports For Name Use

According to The New York Times, the football association FIFA wanted more than a billion dollars every four years from EA Sports for the license to use the FIFA name for the game series of the same name. EA would therefore consider changing the name.

FIFA and EA Sports had been negotiating a license renewal for the game series for at least two years, but those negotiations have virtually stalled. The New York Times writes this based on conversations with those involved. FIFA would bet on more than doubling the licensing costs, according to newspaper sources.

The license agreement between the two companies would bring FIFA $150 million annually so far, the claim goes. A doubling would be $300 million a year and $1.2 billion every four years. According to the newspaper, the new proposal would in any case involve “more than a billion dollars for every four-year World Cup cycle.”

The current license agreement was for a period of ten years. That period will end next year after the World Cup in Qatar. EA Sports chief executive Cam Weber said last week that the company is “exploring the idea” of renaming the football game: “This means we are reviewing our rights agreement with FIFA for the name.”

Since then, it has become clear that the company has applied for the intellectual property under the name ‘EA Sports FC’ from the European Union’s Intellectual Property Office. The first release of FIFA International Soccer took place in 1993. The latest version is FIFA 22. EA Sports sells millions of copies of the game, making the game series lucrative for both the publisher and FIFA. It is not known whether the negotiations have finally ended.