By Quinton Miles

Almost a month after securing the NFL license for exclusivity, Electronic Arts announced this morning a new exclusive four year agreement with the Arena Football League. Under the deal, EA will produce an AFL title to be released around the start of the 2006 season and also share in proceeds of future expansion team sales. They will also begin to partner with the league on media and retail marketing this year in order to prepare for the new games to come.

“Once again, we are partnering with an industry leader who believes in the AFL philosophy and its growth potential. To the extent that EA helps grow the AFL, they participate in that growth through the increased value of future expansion teams,” said Commissioner David Baker. “EA is the videogame industry’s gold standard. Arguably, nothing is more important to reach the younger male demographic that we are so strong in than video games. For our core fan, this is akin to a network-television agreement.”

“We believe that the business model the AFL has created will provide for a new football experience for videogame fans, and provide EA with an incentive to partner with the AFL to expand the league,” said Larry Probst, Chairman and CEO of EA. “The AFL is a unique brand of football and we intend to deliver a unique football gaming experience from any the industry has seen before. We’re pleased to be working with the league during this exciting growth-period for the AFL.”

That’s all we’ve got on this one for now, but you can be sure more information will become available over the next few days. Check back with us for more as we get it.