EA Sports Signs Branding Partnership With English Premier League

Continuing the trend of sports leagues signing exclusive partnerships with various companies, EA Sports has inked a deal to become the "official sports technology partner" of the Premier League. The short take is that EA Sports branding is going to be plastered all over stadiums and game broadcasts. Don't be surprised to see some awkward virtual augmented reality segments starring players pulled out of FIFA 11 on pre-game shows like the Madden advertiorials ESPN uses during NFL Sunday Countdown.

"We look forward to adding further in-game authenticity with the direct access to the Player Performance Index, as well as releasing new ways to leverage our technology to enhance the fans enjoyment of Barclays Premier League soccer on and beyond match day each week,” said EA Sports vice president Matt Bilbey.

The Player Performance Index is a stat-tracking device the league is expanding to track the speed of shots, the force impact a ball makes upon a goalkeeper during saves, the height players jump for headers, and more. The official press release also notes this index should appear in future FIFA iterations.