EA Sports has announced that it will be bringing Colin Kaepernick back into its annual NFL video game installment in a cheap ploy to build up some good publicity after weeks of heavy criticism.
EA’s Madden NFL 21 has a user score of 0.2 on Metacritic, with over 90% of the user ratings being negative. Fans of the Madden series have taken to calling on the NFL to part ways with EA over the game, with former NFL players even weighing in.
Enter the latest deflection designed to get some good media coverage and maybe even some social justice buys. After a four-year absence, EA Sports is reintroducing Kaepernick to the game as a free agent. This was past due; Kaepernick should have always been available in the game, given that he was ostensibly still interested in playing in the league. But the pandering by EA Sports is clear in how it’s going about this.
Kaepernick will be reintroduced with an overall player rating of 81, tied for 15th best quarterback, ranking higher than former MVP Cam Newton and reigning rookie of the year Kyler Murray. Kaepernick hasn’t played a snap since the 2016 season, in which he was benched for backup Blaine Gabbert. Madden gave him a final updated rating of 76 that year.
EA Sports released a statement, saying it wants to “make Madden NFL a place that reflects Colin’s position and talent, rates him as a starting QB, and empowers our fans to express their hopes for the future of football.” Its statement roughly translates to “we know our users hate the game, but look, we’re woke too!”
Kaepernick was the worst-rated passer in the league his final season based on ESPN’s QBR metrics. He was benched for Gabbert in the fourth quarter of a game in which he had completed only 1 of 5 passes. He was also benched for Gabbert in 2015, described by NFL analyst Chris Wesseling as “a clearly regressing quarterback who has struggled not only with the rudimentary passing elements such as accuracy, anticipation, and touch, but also with protections, field vision, and decision making.”
Kaepernick is far removed from his peak season in 2013, when he was only 26. Now, he’s 32 and is about to start his fourth year of being an unemployed quarterback. Either EA is mistaken in thinking a little bit of woke pandering can stifle user criticisms, or regular Madden customers deserve the stagnant gameplay they’ll willfully purchase year in and year out.
