Cam Newton Reacts to His Madden 21 Rating

Getty Cam Newton

The Madden 21 ratings were revealed on Friday, and let’s just say the New England PatriotsCam Newton wasn’t pleased with his rating in the upcoming game.

To begin the season, the former 2015 NFL MVP who recently signed a one-year deal with the Patriots is rated a 78 overall.

Newton Comments on the Patriots’ Instagram Post

The Patriots’ official Instagram account posted this image highlighting the players on the team with the highest ratings, and you’ll notice Newton’s name is missing.

Take a look at his response in the comments.

🤦🏽‍♂️😳🤦🏽‍♂️😳🤦🏽‍♂️😳
THÏŠ ÏŠ ŪÑÄČČĒ₽TÄߣĒ…😩
-1ØVĒ🤟🏾

Newton was rated an 84 overall when Madden 20 was released in August 2019. After a season that saw him miss all but two games, and produce modest numbers as he tried to play through injuries, EA doesn’t see Newton as a player worthy of a rating that cracks 80.

Lance Zierlein Doesn’t Understand NFL Players’ Obsession With their Madden Ratings

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein thinks NFL players take their Madden ratings too seriously.

On one hand, Zierlein has a point. It’s not as if Madden ratings are connected to NFL players’ bonuses, contracts, or roster spots. That said, Madden has become such a major aspect of the football culture in the United States, the ratings are a standard-bearing concept under that umbrella.

A better comparison for the ratings than a Yelp review is an evaluation from an awards committee. It’s similar to Pro Football Focus. PFF’s ratings don’t factor into a player’s bottom line, it’s mostly for fans. However, the two entities have different fanbases. PFF fans want to learn the truth about each player at every position. It doesn’t matter if they go in thinking Julio Jones is the best wide receiver in the NFL, they want to find out if they’re correct. If they aren’t, they welcome the education.

It makes them feel smarter than the average football fan.

View this post on Instagram

Gilly 🔒 keeping it 9̳9̳

A post shared by New England Patriots (@patriots) on Jul 16, 2020 at 5:33am PDT

Madden fans want the ratings to reflect what they think they already know. If they believe Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL, they fully expect to see him as the highest-rated player at his position. It doesn’t matter if according to PFF, the Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson was actually the highest-rated quarterback.

In any case, ratings and tier culture are not exclusive to football. We’re all somewhat obsessed with it to a degree. Madden is just one of the more high-profile concepts in the game.

Also Read: