Colin Kaepernick may not be on an NFL roster again, but the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback is officially back in the Madden NFL video game franchise, EA Sports announced. Kaepernick makes an appearance in the game for the first time since the 2016 season when he began a movement against racial inequality and police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem.
Kaepernick remains unsigned by NFL teams, but makes his virtual NFL comeback as the top free-agent quarterback in Madden 21. His overall game rating is an 81 which ranks him among the top quarterbacks on Madden 21. In fact, the rating even ranks in the top 15 of Madden’s 111 total quarterbacks.
On Tuesday, EA Sports released the following statement:
“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.”
Colin Kaepernick Madden 21 Details
Kaepernick made his Madden NFL debut in 2011 as a rookie. As his popularity grew and the 49ers continued to win, Kaepernick was featured in Madden television commercials for three straight years from 2013 to 2015 — more than any player in the game’s history, according to EA Sports. Previous to this year’s game, Kaepernick’s last appearance was in Madden 17, which was released on Aug. 23, 2016.
EA Sports reached out to Kaepernick earlier this summer to negotiate the rights to include him in the game again. Supposedly, Kaepernick was “hands-on” in deciding how his avatar would look in Madden 21. EA Sports confirmed that Kaepernick chose for his character to wear an Afro and to incorporate his signature Black Power fist celebration.
On Tuesday, EA updated Madden 21 so users could sign Kaepernick to any NFL team in the game’s Franchise mode. Also, EA announced that Madden 21 would be free to play during NFL kickoff weekend from Thursday to Saturday.
Madden 21’s Top 25 Quarterbacks By Overall Rating
- Patrick Mahomes (99)
- Russell Wilson (97)
- Lamar Jackson (94)
- Drew Brees (93)
- Tom Brady (90)
- Aaron Rodgers (89)
- Matt Ryan (87)
- Deshaun Watson (86)
- Carson Wentz (84)
- Dak Prescott (84)
- Jimmy Garoppolo (83)
- Matthew Stafford (83)
- Kirk Cousins (82)
- Philip Rivers (82)
- Colin Kaepernick (81) *
- Ben Roethlisbserger (81)
- Ryan Tannehill (80)
- Derek Carr (79)
- Baker Mayfield (78)
- Cam Newton (78)
- Josh Allen (77)
- Kyler Murray (76)
- Jared Goff (76)
- Joe Burrow (76)
- Teddy Bridgewater (75)
*Free Agent
[H/T The Undefeated]
