Colin Kaepernick returns to Madden NFL after four years as 15th-best QB

The NFL may not be ready to welcome back Colin Kaepernick to the football field, but it appears the gaming world is more receptive to the quarterback’s skills.

EA Sports, the maker of the wildly popular Madden NFL series, announced on Tuesday that Kaepernick will feature as a free-agent in his first appearance in the game since 2016.

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

“Knowing that our EA Sports experiences are platforms for players to create, we want to make Madden NFL a place that reflects Colin’s position and talent, rates him as a starting QB, and empowers our fans to express their hopes for the future of football. We’ve worked with Colin to make this possible, and we’re excited to bring it to all of you today.”

Kaepernick last appeared in Madden 17, which covered the 2016 season and was released shortly after the quarterback began kneeling during the anthem in protest at police brutality and social injustice in the United States.

Kaepernick has not found a team since leaving the San Francisco 49ers at the end of the 2016 season, and NFL teams have been accused of blackballing the 32-year-old due to his political stance. EA Sports said it lost its right to use Kaepernick’s likeness when he was not included in a licensing agreement with the NFL Players Association.

However, this summer Kaepernick approached EA Sports to use his likeness in the game. The company says it agreed to the quarterback’s request to have an Afro in the game and sources told ESPN he will celebrate touchdowns with a black power salute. He will have a rating of 81 out of 99, making him the 15th best quarterback in the game ahead of established stars such as Cam Newton and Baker Mayfield and this year’s No 1 draft pick, Joe Burrow.

The Madden series is incredibly popular with fans around the world as well as NFL players. It has sold more than 130m copies since its inception in 1988 and a new version is released every season, leading to fevered debate over players’ ratings.