Electronic Arts Lands an NFL Exclusive

"This is something we thought was important for our brand, so we put in an offer," Muller said.

Take-Two is counting on its sports games to help diversify its lineup, the company acknowledged in a statement. While arguing that the deals are a "tremendous disservice" to consumers, leading to higher prices and less choice, the company downplayed their significance to its own financials.

"The licensed NFL game we distributed on behalf of Sega this year was not a material contributor to our profitability to date, nor was it expected to be a meaningful contributor in the upcoming year. We remain committed to continued diversification of our product portfolio, including sports," the company said.

Take-Two representatives were not available for comment.

Known for its popular Grand Theft Auto franchise, Take-Two has been struggling to diversify its games lineup. Many analysts have considered the company's sports titles a key part of that effort.

The deals are the latest development in the ongoing battle between EA and Take-Two in the sports-game segment. Until this past year, EA was the dominant player among sports game publishers. But after teaming up with Sega to co-publish its ESPN line of sports games, Take-Two has taken a significant cut into EA's market share.

While EA typically offers its new sports games for about $50 each, Take-Two has priced its ESPN games at about $20 each.

EA has responded to Take-Two's moves by slashing prices. The video game giant launched its NBA basketball title at a price that was $10 less than its normal charge. It followed with a promotion that offered a free sports game to customers who bought two of its sports titles. Most recently, the company last month slashed the prices of a number of its sports games by about $10 each.

EA signed separate agreements with the NFL and Players Inc., a subsidiary of the National Football League Players Association. The parties did not disclose the financial arrangements of the deals.