In 2010, EA Sports partnered with ESPN to conduct a fan vote to determine the cover athlete for the annual Madden video game. This year, there will be no vote, according to Eric Fisher of SportsBusiness Journal.
But there will be a cover athlete, as selected by EA Sports and announced on Thursday.
The contest at one point commenced with a 64-player bracket. In 2014, only 16 were in the pool. Last year, a four-player vote resulted in Odell Beckham Jr. getting the gig.
Make your guesses below as to who it will be. I’ll make three: (1) Jameis Winston; (2) Todd Gurley; (3) Josh Norman.
EA Sports has had the exclusive NFL video game contract since 2004. In 2014, the NFL said that EA Sports held the rights for a “couple more years.”
I’ve complained multiple times in the past about the quality of the game. However, the 2016 version of the Madden franchise was the best ever — a dynamic that was balanced out by regression of the FIFA game and a lingering malaise with the NHL series.
This year’s version comes out on August 23. And I plan to pre-order it.