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Colin Kaepernick returns to Madden NFL 21

EA Sports has added Colin Kaepernick to Madden 21 as a free agent after four years.

Donovan Erskine

September 8, 2020 11:35 AM

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NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick changed the world when he decided to kneel during the national anthem in protest of the social injustices faced by black people in America in regards to police brutality back in 2016. Kaepernick hit free agency the following offseason as the 49ers opted not to re-sign the Super Bowl quarterback and hasn’t played for an NFL team since. Four years later and we see organized kneeling across professional sports as major companies and organizations have embraced the once-taboo Black Lives Matter movement. EA Sports is attempting to mend some wounds as the developer has announced Colin Kaepernick is being added back in Madden 21 as a free agent. 

Colin Kaepernick is back in Madden as of the game’s latest update. EA Sports released a statement on the decision to bring the QB back, which can be read in its entirety below. In the statement, EA Sports states that they’ve really been wanting to have Kaepernick back in the game, they also address a “past soundtrack mistake” in which they censored the mention of Colin Kaepernick in a Big Sean verse in Madden 19. 

pic.twitter.com/R2agq5B64p

— Madden NFL 21 (@EAMaddenNFL) September 8, 2020

Colin Kaepernick has an 81 overall in Madden 21, which makes him the 15th ranked QB in the game. Kaepernick is a free agent, meaning that you’ll be able to sign him in Franchise mode or go into the roster settings and assign him to your favorite squad. 

While it’s cool to see Kap back in Madden, it’s hard to praise EA Sports for adding him back to the game. One would wonder why he was ever removed in the first place when the player never retired or officially departed from the league. The philosophies and ideals that Kaepernick stood for in 2016 are finally becoming “mainstream” and widely accepted, making it a safe move to put him back in Madden. 

EA Sports has a lot on its plate when it comes to the current state of the Madden franchise. Frustrations with the lack of innovation every year has led to movements for the NFL to end its partnership with EA to trend on Twitter. We here at Shacknews weren’t the biggest fans of Madden 21 either, as stated in our review.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_