The NFL Players Association got $2.16 million from video game maker Electronic Arts in the 12 months ended Feb. 28, well below the more than $30 million annually the union had previously taken in, according to the group’s annual report, filed last week with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Between 2007 and 2011, EA paid an average of $32.3 million to the union, according to previously filed NFLPA annual reports, known as LM-2s. In the period around the 2011 NFL lockout — March 1-11, 2011, and July 26, 2011-Feb. 29, 2012 — the NFLPA received $569,000 from EA. The NFLPA did not have to disclose figures for the lockout period because it was not operating as a union during that time.
EA long had been the union’s top commercial licensee. It is possible EA might have adjusted the structure of its payments to the NFLPA during and prior to the lockout.
EA declined to comment; the NFLPA could not immediately be reached for comment.
The EA decline appears to have had an effect on the overall commercial revenue flowing into the union. In the NFLPA’s annual report, commercial income largely encompasses “other receipts,” an amount that was $105 million in the most recent 12-month period. In the last full-year filing period (for the 12 months ended Feb. 28, 2011), “other receipts” was $129 million.
The LM-2 uses cash and not accrual accounting. So if a company made a large payment one day past the end of the LM-2 12-month period, it would be reflected next year.
