The news hit after Analyst Michael Patcher commented that the content would "essentially be a very long game demo, along the lines of 2009's Battlefield 1943." Using that as an example, he then suggested that the "full-blown packaged game" (Of BF1943) would later be released at a full retail price.
Today, EA has clarified their position. Responding to Kotaku, Jeff Brown said that it's working on a "number of projects for delivering premium content to consumers before, during, and after the launch of a packaged-goods version of the game."
"To date, there is no set pricing strategy for the entire EA portfolio. And many of the proposals include free-to-play content on models similar to Madden Ultimate Team, Battlefield Heroes and Battlefield 1943."
"None of the proposals," he said, "call for charging consumers for traditionally free game demos."
I suppose it depends on what you mean by "traditionally free", but I guess we can all relax for the moment.