I know everyone and their mother has linked to this already. But just in case you're one of the few that hasn't heard, there's a petition out to boycott the NFL for the duration of their contract with EA. Pretty harsh. This petition has been up for under 3 days, and it already has over 10,000 signatures.
EA and the NFL must be aware of this petition (and the fact that 99% of the reaction in the gaming community has been very negative). Will the NFL squirm if the public continues to react?
One thing to watch is pre-sale numbers. Places like EBWorld have been taking pre-sale orders for Madden for a while now. Have people been cancelling their orders? And how will pre-sale numbers compare to last year?