Portsmouth, NH. and Washington, DC – Bit Fry Game Studios, Inc. today announced its agreement with OneTeam Partners (“OneTeam”) and the NFL Players Association (“NFLPA”) to add an officially-licensed football game to the studios’ ever-expanding line-up of sports videogames.

Already incorporating select NFL players into its existing arcade action NHL-licensed hockey game Ultimate Rivals™: The Rink and its upcoming NBA-licensed basketball game Ultimate Rivals: The Court, with the NFLPA license, Bit Fry will now flip the script and enable users to play on the virtual gridiron with superstar athletes from across hockey, basketball, baseball, and soccer alongside a select roster of current NFL players. The agreement grants Bit Fry the right to feature the names, numbers, images, and likenesses of nearly 2,000 current NFL players in an arcade action football game. OneTeam, the NFLPA’s group licensing representative, facilitated the deal.

“Bit Fry is the leading studio in the arcade-action sports segment and is thrilled to be bringing the NFL players into the Ultimate Rivals universe with another play-book shredding, category defining title that gives football a video-game treatment unlike any seen before it. Fans of the franchise can expect the studio to remain dedicated to an exceptionally high quality experience, including all of the standard baseline ingredients of a Bit Fry game, such as 60fps framerates minimum, an unprecedented balance of approachable gameplay and high skill-cap depth, and industry standard-setting visuals and auditory aesthetics,” said Ben Freidlin, CEO and founder of Bit Fry Game Studios and the creator of the Ultimate Rivals franchise.

“Bit Fry’s games continue to impress, providing opportunities for fans to create virtual team mashups while including the likes of Alex Morgan, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Mike Trout and Skylar Diggins-Smith,” said Steve Scebelo, Interim President, NFL Players Inc., the marketing and licensing arm of the NFLPA. “As we look for new ways to connect with sports gamers, especially in today’s climate, this is an exciting development for fans and the future of gaming.”

“We are constantly exploring ways to innovate how athletes interact with fans across the ever-evolving games landscape, and this partnership with the NFLPA and Bit Fry Game Studios illustrates the creative potential that exists,” said Ahmad Nassar, CEO, OneTeam Partners.

Ultimate Rivals™: The Rink is available now exclusively on Apple Arcade and will be followed by Ultimate Rivals: The Court.

Bit Fry’s football game is scheduled for release in 2021, with platforms to be announced at a later date. 

About Bit Fry Game Studios

Bit Fry Game Studios, Inc., an independent multiplatform developer and publisher of arcade-action video games, with a team made up of gaming and sports veterans. Bit Fry is the first studio to combine licenses from all player unions, as well as four sports leagues, into a single gaming franchise. Bit Fry has secured groundbreaking licensing agreements with nine major professional sports organizations, including the NHL, NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA), NBA, National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), MLB, MLB Players Association (MLBPA), NFLPA, Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA), USWNTPA, as well as Wayne Gretzky.

About the NFL Players Association

The National Football League Players Association (“NFLPA”) is the union for professional football players in the National Football League. Established in 1956, the NFLPA has a long history of assuring proper recognition and representation of players’ interests. The NFLPA has shown that it will do whatever is necessary to assure that the rights of players are protected—including ceasing to be a union, if necessary, as it did in 1989. In 1993, the NFLPA again was officially recognized as the union representing the players and negotiated a landmark Collective Bargaining Agreement (“CBA”) with the NFL. The current CBA will govern the sport through the 2030 NFL season.

About NFL Players Inc.
NFL Players Inc., the licensing and marketing arm of the NFLPA, connects businesses to the power of NFL players. NFL Players Inc. creates customized business solutions for partners, through licensing, marketing strategy and player activations. For more information, please visit nflpa.com/players.

About OneTeam Partners

Formed in November 2019, OneTeam Partners is a joint venture between the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) and RedBird Capital.  OneTeam helps athletes maximize the value of their name, image and likeness rights by transforming the way in which athletes interact with businesses across four verticals: group licensing, athlete marketing, content and venture investing. OneTeam represents a range of commercial business interests on behalf of the NFLPA, MLBPA, Major League Soccer Players Association, United States Women’s National Team Players Association, Women’s National Basketball Players Association, and United States Rugby Players Association