Summary

  • According to sources, the New York Jets avoided trading for Jerry Jeudy due to his low Madden NFL rating, despite interest.
  • Woody Johnson, Jets owner, reportedly based trade decisions on Madden NFL ratings, impacting player acquisitions.
  • Madden NFL ratings may not always align with player performance, leading to controversial decisions.

Madden NFL was reportedly a factor behind the New York Jets choosing not to sign former Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, despite entering negotiations with his former team about a trade. Created by EA, Madden NFL is a popular football simulation game franchise named after John Madden, a former coach and commentator in the sport.

First established in 1988, Madden NFL is a long-running series and an EA Sports IP which receives a new installment every year, with its latest entry coming out in August 2024 for consoles and PC. Upon release, Madden NFL 25 was met with a lukewarm reception despite strong sales. Among the franchise's various fundamental features are player ratings, stats that are directly proportional to a footballer's effectiveness in the game, helping players easily identify the best people on the team. In an interesting revelation, it has been claimed that Madden NFL's player ratings may have influenced certain real-world acquisition discussions in the North American sport.

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The New York Jets's owner, Woody Johnson, seemingly decided against his franchise trading for the 25-year-old wide receiver Jerry Jeudy because the latter's Madden NFL rating "wasn't high enough." As reported by The Athletic (via IGN), Johnson's call was the reason behind New York Jets General Manager Joe Douglas exiting talks with the player's former team, the Denver Broncos, despite being "deep in negotiations" and being personally interested in the acquisition. The source continued that the Broncos "couldn't believe" the reason why the move didn't materialize. In the end, Jeudy, rated 84 in Madden NFL 25's database at the time of writing, was moved to the Cleveland Browns instead.

New York Jets Supposedly Referenced Madden NFL Ratings for Player Acquisitions

The report also highlighted that this wasn't a one-off case where Johnson relied on Madden NFL ratings to opine on new acquisitions for the New York Jets. In the past, a move for free agent John Simpson was also reportedly "pushed back" by the owner based on the player's "awareness" stat in the game. Talking about Madden NFL being a factor behind his failed move to the Jets, Jerry Jeudy labeled the claims as possibly being "fake news" in a recent press conference.

While EA devs obviously work hard to make Madden NFL as realistic as they can, there are instances where the game may not truly reflect the ability of a real-world player. Given that new Cleveland Browns signing Jeudy has been playing considerably well in real life as of late, his case appears to be one of those where fans may argue a player merits a better in-game rating than the one EA gave them.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image
Madden NFL 25 Tag Page Cover Art
7 /10

Madden NFL 25
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Sports
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Systems
PlayStation-1 Xbox-1 PC-1
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Top Critic Avg: 69 /100 Critics Rec: 34%
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Released
August 16, 2024
ESRB
E For Everyone
Developer(s)
EA Tiburon
Publisher(s)
EA
Engine
Frostbite
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer, Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
Cross-Platform Play
Yes. PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S
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SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
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Franchise
Madden NFL
Steam Deck Compatibility
Unknown
Genre(s)
Sports
X|S Optimized
No
OpenCritic Rating
Fair