The 5-year deal announced by Electronic Arts recently, where they had negotiated with the NFL, was very impressive, but it looks like EA have "had their fingers burned" when trying to deal with another US sporting franchise. EA have been turned down in an attempted deal with the NBA.
The NBA have seen revenues increase in recent years, thanks to the rival ESPN range of NBA titles as well as NBA Ballers, and the exclusivity deal would have likely meant that income to the franchise would have dropped. Whether EA will return to the table with an improved deal is yet to be established.