I wish there was a surefire way to break into the industry. You could attend DigiPen, which is great if you somehow manage to live in that corner of the country. Another option includes taking one of the many games courses in university that pop up now and then. But I fear those just teach the basics necessary to be one of EA's disposable grunts, and not anything creative, because that would just be unheard of.
The problem I see with these unheard of working conditions, is that the work is disposable. Now, regardless of your opinion of EA sports games, a lot fo work goes into them. That said, have you ever watched the credits for Madden? Probably not... and even so, can you name the Director of Madden NFL 2003? How about the Producer or the Lead Composer? See what I mean? Now I bet you can name the Creator of Zelda. I bet you can even name the director of the latest game in that series. I bet you can name the director of Sonic games, right? The Director of Eternal Darkness? Lead Designer on Doom 3? You can name these people, and some of their teams. They have built a history, a reputation, a legacy.
Being the lead designer or a high level programmer for an EA sports title probably is not going to help your career much. And since it seems your pay does not increase at all, and they grind you to pieces on these games, it seems like a wasted effort, and no wonder the guy seems less enthusiastic about their jobs.