EA has added current NFL free agent and activist Colin Kaepernick to the playable roster of Madden 21.
Related: Madden 21 Ripped By Players And Gets An Record Low Metacritic Score
In a statement published on September 8th, EA described Kaepernick as “one of the top free agents in football and a starting-caliber quarterback” and noted that “the team at EA SPORTS, along with millions of Madden NFL fans, want to see him back in our game.”
“We’ve had a long relationship with Colin through Madden NFL and worked through our past soundtrack mistakes,” said EA.
The previous “soundtrack mistakes” refer to EA’s censorship of a reference to Kaepernick’s name during Big Sean’s verse on YG’s Big Bank when the song was featured on the soundtrack to Madden 18:
bad enough @Kaepernick7 still not signed, but now they even edit his name out in this year’s @EAMaddenNFL during @BigSean verse, smh pic.twitter.com/3nvkB26z5r
— Mr. Changing Lives (@jeanclervil) August 2, 2018
EA explained how, “knowing that our EA SPORTS experiences are platforms for players to create, we want 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.”
It was then announced that “starting today, in Madden NFL 21, fans can put Colin Kaepernick at the helm of any NFL team in Franchise mode, as well as play with him in Play Now.”
“We look forward to seeing Colin on Madden NFL teams everywhere,” EA concluded.
Though Kapernick has not appeared in an NFL game since January 1st, 2017, where he led the San Francisco 49ers to a 25-23 loss against the Seattle Seahawks, he has been introduced to Madden 21 with an overall rating of 81, which makes him the 15th-best quarterback in the game alongside Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Rothlisberger.
The San Francsico 49ers current quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, is ranked as the 11th-best quarterback with an overall rating of 83.
What do you make of Kaepernick’s inclusion? Should he have been given such an impressive player rating? Let us know on social media or in the comments down below!