Madden Reportedly Influenced How One NFL Owner Runs His Team

Madden, the annual football sim from EA Sports, reportedly influenced a real-world NFL owner in the decisions that were made with his team this past offseason. Since the start of Madden all the way back in the 1980s, the goal of each game has been to most accurately represent the real NFL product. One way in which EA Sports does this is by assigning ratings to each player, which are always a big conversation point with each new release. And while Madden player ratings historically haven’t mattered all that much, it seems as though one owner put a lot of stock in how EA Sports graded players for Madden NFL 24.

In a new report from The New York Times, it was said that Woody Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets, used Madden to make the final call on a trade that never came to fruition this past offseason. Back in February, the Jets were reportedly in talks with the Denver Broncos to acquire wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. The deal for Jeudy was nearly finalized, but right before it went through, Johnson reportedly told former Jets GM Joe Douglas to scrap the trade. The reason behind this decision, according to multiple sources, is that Johnson thought Jeudy’s Madden rating wasn’t high enough to warrant what the Jets would give up to get him. In turn, the Broncos found a new trade partner in the Cleveland Browns, where Jeudy has since had a career year in 2024.

Obviously, this news is shocking for a number of reasons. As an NFL owner, Johnson pays countless millions of dollars to the coaches and GM that he puts in charge to run the Jets. For Johnson to not listen to their expertise and instead rely on Madden, of all things, to dictate the decisions he makes is something that likely can’t be said for the other 31 teams in the NFL.

The report went on to say that much of Johnson’s reliance on Madden ratings when it comes to judging talent in the NFL comes from his teenage sons, Brick and Jack. This led former Jets GM Douglas to reportedly even assert that his bosses were Brick and Jack more so than they were Johnson himself. Still, it was Douglas who ended up on the chopping block in late November when he was fired as Jets GM after the team failed to meet expectations.

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If there is a silver lining to this story, it’s that acquiring Jeudy likely wouldn’t have done much to change the season that the Jets have had. Currently, the Jets have a dismal record of 4 wins and 11 losses, making them one of the worst teams in the NFL. This poor record will lead the Jets to having one of the top draft picks in this coming year’s NFL Draft. Whether or not Johnson will look to consult EA Sports College Football 25 when it comes to scouting talent for the draft remains to be seen.