Madden 21 player ratings will be revealed through ESPN next week
Madden 21 Ratings Week will be hosted by ESPN starting July 13.
With the majority of major sports on a temporary pause due to the coronavirus pandemic, ESPN is starving for content. If you follow any of their program’s social channels, you’ll know what I’m talking about. So with Madden 21 right around the corner, ESPN is teaming up with EA Sports for what’s being dubbed as “Madden Ratings Week.”
From July 13 through July 17, ESPN’s programming — SportsCenter, Get Up, First Take and NFL Live — will exclusively reveal the player ratings for Madden 21 and host debates surrounding these numbers. Madden Ratings Week will begin on July 13 with Get Up hosting daily reveals for players in the Madden 99 Club, the special group reserved for players rated 99 overall, the highest possible rating in the game.
ESPN’s other shows, like First Take, NFL Live and SportsCenter, will also take part in Madden Ratings Week. Following the Madden 99 Club reveals each day, First Take’s hosts will then debate each superstar. SportsCenter will also be revealing positional rankings each day during the SportsCenter Top 10 while NFL Live will “present content in a unique way,” whatever that means. The entire week will culminate in a SportsCenter special on Friday, July 17 at 7:00 p.m. featuring a breakdown of how EA comes up with ratings along with additional reveals and player interviews by hosts Laura Rutledge, Louis Riddick, Field Yates and Mina Kimes.
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While I’m not a fan of this ratings reveal process — I prefer the traditional blog posts — I understand how both sides see this as a beneficial partnership. EA gets exposure on the biggest sports reporting platform and ESPN gets exclusive content. It also makes sense from a content stand point for ESPN which has increasingly started to cover video games, particularly eSports and competitive events, in light of the pandemic.
Plus, let’s be honest, ESPN is more of an opinion-driven network now and what better to debate during this downtime than the ratings of players in a video game? Seeing as how a player’s rating in Madden is reflective of their on the field performance, it seems even these windbag talk show hosts may have some worthy critical analysis.
Next. Madden 21 player ratings: Three best rookie quarterbacks revealed. dark
While the regular NFL season may still be up in the air, Madden 21 will definitely launch on August 28, 2020. At least fans will get to enjoy some football this year — even if it is vritual.