New York Jets owner Woody Johnson reportedly didn’t want to make a trade because of a player rating in the popular video game franchise from EA Sports, Madden NFL.
According to The Athletic, citing sources, the Jets and Denver Broncos were deep in negotiations last February in a move that would send wide receiver Jerry Jeudy to the Jets. However, Johnson had a problem with his Madden rating being too low.
Former general manager Joe Douglas had expressed interest in Jeudy and it had appeared the talks were gaining momentum before Johnson interfered with the video game reasoning. The Broncos’ front office was shocked.
So here’s the thing. Yes, it sounds crazy, but you could argue that’s not the craziest thing to come out of the Jets this season.
Perhaps there’s also some validity there.
Those who make the ratings don’t take it lightly and when they come out, it’s a hot topic.
EA Sports’ Donny Moore dubbs himself a “Madden Ratings Czar.”
“We take our jobs very seriously,” Moore told BoardRoom.TV in 2022. “At the end of the day, it’s about authenticity. We are very passionate about how the ratings capture the NFL realism. We will always listen to the players, but we are sure we got this down. We’re looking at all these numbers, ranking everybody amongst all their different data points, so we feel pretty good.”
I’m not saying you should put all your chips in on this, and let’s be honest — the way Johnson and the Jets have been running their team into the ground, it’s laughable.
Perhaps this is more of a situation that shouldn’t surprise anyone, and small compared to everything else that has happened this season.
Former Jets head coach Robert Saleh was fired five games into the season, quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been more productive with on-air talent than on-field talent, and the defense has been missing in action. That’s to name a few.
We also got a preview of Rodgers’ Netflix debut where he gets high on Ayahuasca:
So needless to say, a video game ranking is minute when you look at the grand scheme of things.
“They keep on doing the same thing over and over: they change the football people. The football people are not the issue,”
one former executive told The Athletic. “It’s, ‘Hey, I have brain cancer.’ And, ‘Well, just cut off your foot.'”
