EA Sports released a patch and a roster update this morning to bring Colin Kaepernick back into Madden for the first time since 2016.
Kaepernick will be present as an FA in Franchise mode. At age 32, he’s an 81 OVR “Improvisor” QB with normal dev. He’ll be a great plug-and-play QB for year for any team, though regression will likely prevent him from being a long-term option.
Kaepernick will also be available in “The Yard, with his own custom jersey: the Nike Kapernick Icon 2.0
Colin Kapernick is not included in the NFL PA group licensing agreement, so EA Sports reached out to directly to negotiate rights for his inclusion in the game. In a statement released today EA said:
“Colin Kaepernick is one of the top free agents in football and a starting-caliber quarterback. The team at EA SPORTS, along with millions of Madden NFL fans, want to see him back in our game. …
“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. We’ve worked with Colin to make this possible, and we’re excited to bring it to all of you today.”
Process Change?
Kaepernick shows up in both “Real Life” and “Active Roster” starting options for Connected Franchise Mode. This is the first time that Madden has sim-shipped and update to both “Real Life” rosters for CFM and the standard roster file. Historically, the “Real Life” rosters for CFM lagged a week or so behind the standard roster releases.
Free To Play
From EA:
“To celebrate Kaepernick’s return and the start of the NFL season, Madden NFL 21 will be free-to-play Thursday, September 10th through Sunday, September 13th, so that all fans have an opportunity to play with Kap”
This is a great opportunity for folks to try out Madden 21 and see for themselves what it’s really like to play the worst-rated game in Metacritic history.