Before you guys get your say, I'd like to throw in my idea for the series. This is an idea that EA would no doubt be incredibly wary to adopt, but that I think is completely necessary for the survival of their brand:

Every console generation, EA should launch one, and ONLY one Madden disc. From that point forward, every other yearly update of Madden would work as an expansion pack to that original disc, updating the rosters and adding in bug fixes, slight graphical updates, and entirely new content that the Madden team has worked up. Each yearly expansion pack could cost as much as $20, provided that EA really works hard to provide new, quality content. The expansion packs could also be launched on a disc, for Madden players that don't have internet access, but like a PC game expansion, wouldn't work without the original Madden for that generation. By doing this, EA would keep production costs low by not having to redo the entire game every year, and they'd keep their customers happy, since they would no longer have to pay full price for what is essentially a set of small updates. Everyone wins.

Now it's your turn, guys. Get to crackin' with your own ideas.