The debate about how much players can trust content creators sponsored by game publishers has raged for years. But it may have reached a flashpoint in the Madden community after Kurt Benkert, a former NFL QB who teaches Madden on YouTube, was gifted a top-tier MUT squad to learn more about the mode.
Benkert focuses primarily on playing with real NFL rosters, and said he doesn't have time to grind MUT. GutFoxx, one of the best-known Madden YouTubers, responded thusly:
This is what I'm talking about, the people that EA gets feedback from (like @KurtBenkert) get granted cards and don't have to grind while the rest of you poors have to pay EA.
— Gutfoxx (@Gutfoxx) December 3, 2025
This is a big reason why MUT is so disconnected from the actual userbase.
Bad job @MaddenBible. pic.twitter.com/d7tB3JLtzi
As many critics of this video have pointed out, it's impossible to fairly review MUT without some understanding of how time-consuming it is to put a team together. Playing this way is like getting to keep all your weapons at the beginning of a Metroidvania. Yeah, you're gonna have a great time unless you'd like to be, ya know, challenged at some point.
It's also worth noting that Benkert declared this year's Madden would be one of the best in years after the early access he received. Its Metacritic rating is a 77 overall, which is "Generally Favorable." But it's not exactly an all-timer.
Co-host of the recent Maddencast on Peacock, Benkert is quickly becoming the official face of the Madden franchise. Players such as GutFoxx would like Benkert to use his influence to help improve the game. But at this point, the former NFL QB is on the Madden NFL team. Any good player is going to do his best not to criticize his teammates publicly.
But as Benkert must know, good players don't give the opposition chalkboard material. He has
has been firing back at his critics. He has defended Madden's numerous glitches by telling players that they can't run the same plays over and over and expect to win, a tweet liked by Madden Designer Clint Oldenburg. I play enough to confirm that's not true. Some of my favorite plays, such as TE Attack, have been relevant for more than a decade now. Could I beat Benkert, or a pro Madden player? Probably not. But I can grind a whole lot of wins against players who don't know the proper adjustments to make.
One exchange between Benkert and SoftDrink TV, a well-known EA and Madden franchise critic, has gotten particularly messy on Twitter.
Listen, I get it - you make a living off the negativity bit and it gets the views and makes you money
— Kurt Benkert (@KurtBenkert) December 3, 2025
But I know after a while it has to get old.
After Drink's criticism of Benkert, the former NFL QB revealed that Drink had previously reached out to him to discuss a sponsored video. They didn't end up doing it, and Benkert asked if Drink would be currently attacking him if they had worked together on the project.
It's a mess, and yes, I am always here for some good social media drama between some of Madden community's biggest voices. We wade through a lot of PR speak in this business, and the occasions when people are real about things are often few and far between.
Despite how much we're enjoying this, it's worth wondering if EA-supported content creators should be wallowing in the muck like this. It's a bad look that pours gasoline on the already raging fire. But we have learned that Benkert can ask the hard questions. Madden's player base is simply asking that he fire a few of them in EA's direction.