Quick Hit Quick Hit has signed a deal with the NFL. Is the NFLPA next?

When EA Sports and the NFL agreed to an exclusive video game license, everyone assumed it was game over for any other company attempting to make a football title.

Not so fast.

Not only has the free online coaching sim "Quick Hit Football" thrived, signing up over one million registered users in its first five months of open beta, but now it has done the unthinkable and signed a multi-year agreement with the NFL to feature the league's teams, logos, schedules, Super Bowl, and stadiums (the players and coaches are different licenses).

So how did they do it despite EA's exclusive?

"That's a better question for EA," says Quick Hit CEO Jeff Anderson. "I don't have a copy of the contract they have with the NFL, but for us, it's a tremendous opportunity. Adding the NFL really transforms this product from a really cool Flash game to an incredibly authentic online football game. We're going to be the first mover in the space. The only place you're going to be able to play an NFL licensed game on your PC this fall is 'Quick Hit.'"

Not bad for a company that was started two years ago in a coffee shop and now employs some of the top game developers in the sports genre, including some of the key guys behind the "NFL 2K" franchise.

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