2k and madden were great games and the competition made them get better every year.
Madden looked better but 2k played better. Madden improved every single year when 2k was out.
When EA got the exclusive license, it got worse slowly at first, then fell off a cliff. There should be a class action suit against EA for the millions of broken controllers fans broke raging over the broken mechanics and a.i. in the games.
The NFL threw its fans under the bus with that EA deal and video game football has been mediocre ever since.