As someone who has worked as a programmer in the gaming industry and also holds NYU degrees in both Comp Sci and Game Design, I got this a TON from coworkers "How come you pay EA $60 a year for the same game, its so dumb, blah blah blah". As you'd imagine the majority of people in the gaming industry are gamers, some of them hardcore/borderline pros, and most stay pretty current with the new games that come out. I on the other hand, am a long time retro game collector, and although I own an Xbox One, the only "modern" games Ive bought in the last 8 years are GTA 4 and 5, and Fifa EVERY SINGLE YEAR. To be honest I never get bored of it. People often falsely assume that sports games are only for more casual gamers, but I honestly believe it to be the opposite. Sure the difference between Fifa 14 and 15 is small, but the minor tweaks and subtle changes make a huge difference and are enough for me to log hundreds of hours every year! I believe that my Fifa obsession has honestly given me a better view of how subtle changes in game design can make HUGE differences on the final product and how much actual fun it is to play (Which of course is the goal when making a game). I bought both GTA 4 and 5 because I loved 3/vice city/san andreas when I was younger, but to be honest I only bought them for the month or two in the summer(around now) when the Fifa online community dips before Fifa 16 comes out, and haven't even completed either. Not because I don't like them, but because when I have time I'd still rather put in Fifa.
Another thought is that since sports title are often built on top of the previous years edition I almost think of it like rather than Fifa 15 being a totally new game, it is instead like Fifa 13 that had an extra 2 years of development and polish. It doesn't even bother me to think of it like a $60 DLC every year, what do I care? I mean $60 isn't a meaningless amount of money, but I play it hundreds of hours a year. Hell, in NYC I've gone on dates to the movies where 2 tickets + Popcorn and a soda was >$50. To finish off this wall of text, I know that Fifa, and all sports games, just aren't for everyone. I just want people to realize that sports games like Fifa aren't necessarily the simple casual type games that people seem to think they are. The small changes each year make a huge difference to someone who plays a lot. I dont drink fine wines but I know enough to know that there is a world of depth and intricacy beyond my knowledge, and that I would only appreciate those subtle nuances if I dedicated years to studying them. It sounds silly to say it, but I think sports titles like Fifa are very similar.