Gameloft recently announced NFL 2010 for the iPhone, a fully-licensed National Football League video game that neatly bypasses EA's exclusivity arrangement.
EA's exclusive rights to create video games utilizing the NFL license doesn't extend to mobile games. This is how Gameloft has continuously released NFL titles for normal mobile phones over the past few years, and how they can get away with releasing titles for the iPhone, which despite its increasingly powerful game capabilities, still counts as a mobile device. Back when EA made the exclusivity agreement, mobile gaming was only beginning to grow in popularity, and as recently as a year ago, press releases like the one Gameloft released announcing NFL 2009 went largely unnoticed.
Either way, NFL 2010 is due out by the end of this month for the iPhone and iPod Touch, with a price to be determined. It features full NFL rosters, touch screen controls, and could very well be the go-to game for NFL fans still flustered over the EA deal.
NFL Licensed Football Game Coming to iPhone, But Not From EA [BitMob]