In case you didn’t know, NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was notoriously known worldwide during the 2016 season for protesting police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem. Coincidentally – or not – he was made a free agent since then, too.
Madden NFL 21, and Electronic Arts in general, have been under heat due to several controversies surrounding the game. EA has been doing their best to give the fans what they want. Now, there have been changes made, but the fans’ responses have been mixed.
As of September 8, Colin Kaepernick was added back into the franchise as a free agent. In fact, he is the highest-rated free agent quarterback in Madden NFL 21. However, many believe that this was only done to gain the fans’ favor.
— Madden NFL 21 (@EAMaddenNFL) September 8, 2020
Here’s the thing: EA once removed Kaepernick from Madden NFL 19 and even went so far as to censor his name out of a song in the OST simply because of the controversies and drama caused by the quarterback in 2016.
As for his skills, EA boosted Kaepernick from 74 overall in Madden NFL 17 to 81 overall in Madden NFL 21. Now, a lot of people found an issue with this too, as they think that EA is completely overestimating his skills.
However, EA explains in a blog post their reasoning for this adjustment:
Madden NFL 21 will also have a new mode called The Yard, which is a backyard football-inspired mode. This mode gives you the opportunity for self-expression via Create-a-player (CAP). To celebrate the return of Kaepernick, the “Nike Kaepernick Icon Jersey 2.0” will be made free for everyone.
That being said, some fans are not happy with how the decision to bring back Kaepernick was made. After all, EA still hasn’t properly addressed the fact that they removed the quarterback from the franchise. There is also speculation that EA simply did this as a political move to raise the game’s popularity, as it has been receiving low ratings on Metacritic.
While some fans did commend EA for this decision, the Madden NFL franchise still has a long way to go before it recovers the acclaim and respect it once had.
Madden NFL 21 is currently available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
