How do the image rights for NFL players work in Madden? I'm assuming everyone gets the same deal so is it through the NFLPA? Is Kap still a member?

https://twitter.com/EAMaddenNFL/status/1303377597896830976

This is his first appearance in the game since 2016.

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https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/8/21427590/colin-kaepernick-madden-nfl-21-ea-sports-added-qb

EA adds Colin Kaepernick to Madden NFL 21

His first Madden appearance since 2016
By Jacob Kastrenakes@jake_k Sep 8, 2020, 1:43pm EDT
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EA is bringing Colin Kaepernick back to Madden. Starting today, Kaepernick will be available as a QB who can be added to any team in Franchise mode in Madden NFL 21, which was released in late August. He can also be selected in the game’s Play Now mode. Kaepernick hasn’t been playable in a Madden game since 2016, according to The Undefeated.

“Colin Kaepernick is one of the top free agents in football and a starting-caliber quarterback. The team at EA SPORTS, along with millions of Madden NFL fans, want to see him back in our game,” EA wrote in a statement.

EA worked with Kaepernick to get the rights to use his likeness and to craft his appearance in the game, according to The Undefeated. EA apparently lost the rights to Kaepernick’s likeness when he was listed as a free agent since the company negotiates with the NFL Players Association. EA Sports specifically reached out to Kaepernick to bring him back for this year’s game.

Kaepernick hasn’t been signed by an NFL team since he started kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 to protest the way the United States “oppresses black people and people of color.” The NFL pushed back on Kaepernick’s protest for years and even voted to require players to stand during the anthem. In recent months, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has finally acknowledged the league’s mistake in trying to suppress players’ protests, saying the league “should have listened sooner.”

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http://www.last.fm/user/dagu85

Do they have to get his permission? The only time I remember discussions about this concerned college players and QB Eagles.

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http://www.last.fm/user/dagu85

<--- Big Baller World Order

Not *exactly* clear, but sounds like this particular case was negotiated individually whereas they're normally via the NFLPA.

https://theundefeated.com/features/colin-kaepernick-returns-to-madden-for-first-time-since-2016/?addata=espn:nfl:index

According to EA Sports, after Kaepernick became a free agent following the 2016 NFL season, he was not included in the group licensing agreement, which is negotiated through the NFL Players Association, meaning Madden lost the rights to the quarterback’s likeness. Thus, Kaepernick did not appear in Madden 18, Madden 19 or Madden 20. According to EA Sports, his name was also mistakenly removed from two songs — Mike WiLL Made-It’s “Bars of Soap” and YG’s “Big Bank” (featuring Big Sean, 2 Chainz and Nicki Minaj) — featured on the soundtracks of Madden 18 and Madden 19, respectively. Both instances of censorship of Kaepernick’s name in the video game were discovered by Madden users.

“We made an unfortunate mistake with our Madden NFL soundtrack,” EA Sports said in 2018 before the game was updated. “Members of our team misunderstood the fact that while we don’t have rights to include Colin Kaepernick in the game, this doesn’t affect soundtracks. We messed up, and the edit should never have happened. … We meant no disrespect, and we apologize to Colin, to YG and Big Sean, to the NFL, to all of their fans and our players for this mistake.”

This past summer, ahead of the release of Madden 21, EA Sports approached Kaepernick to negotiate the rights to his likeness so that he could return to the game for the first time in four years. According to multiple sources familiar with the negotiations, Kaepernick was “hands-on” in determining exactly how his avatar was depicted in Madden 21. EA Sports confirmed that Kaepernick requested that his player in the game wear an Afro — an update from his most recent head image in 2016 that portrayed him in Madden 17 with cornrows. Also, according to multiple sources, Kaepernick weighed in heavily on his avatar’s signature celebration — a Black Power fist — to reflect how he celebrated scoring plays the last time he took to the real-life football field during the 2016 NFL season.

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But hell, what do I know?