Jason Kelce calls out Madden for exclusion from iconic game in rookie year
Jason Kelce has been in the NFL for seemingly eons, but still comes well short of eclipsing Madden. When the Eagles center joined the league, the franchise had long since ditched the two dimensional plane and had a plethora of bells and whistles.
Long-time fans name that era of the game's history as the best. However, the center might strongly disagree with at least one title from back then.
Speaking on the New Heights podcast, Kelce revealed he wasn't even in the game as a rookie. Here's how he put it:
"I just found out today I didn't have a rating because I wasn't in the game my first year. I think what happened is my first year in the league was the lockout year. So technically, I wasn't on the team until after Madden had been released."
He went on, taking a shot at his brother in the process, who had just said he was about a 73 overall in the game:
"There was a whole fiasco my first year in the league so I wasn't one of the original releases from the game probably is what happened. But my second year, I was a 76. So my first year in the game, I was rated higher than you."
Of course, with double the number of iterations available since the start of the 21st century, the quickest way to differentiate between any two games is to look at the picture on the cover.
#Chiefs TE Travis Kelce joined @EAMaddenNFL 99Club.
He will be 99 overall in Madden 24.
pic.twitter.com/8BHUIQ9elb
Who was on the cover of Madden 12?
Back at the dawn of the 2010s, Peyton Manning was still a member of the Indianapolis Colts, Tom Brady was 0-2 in his most recent Super Bowl appearances, and Aaron Rodgers was still just making his initial rise to stardom. However, none of these atheletes graced the cover of Madden 12.
Travis Kelce returns to the #99Club
@EAMaddenNFL | #Madden24 pic.twitter.com/xVuOzvjKTD
Rather, it was Peyton Hillis of the Cleveland Browns. The running back played from 2008 until 2014. Looking back, most would name him a one-season wonder, posting just one year of at least 1000 yards. However, it was enough to grace the cover of the game.
He only stuck with the team for two seasons. Over the course of his career, he played for four teams. He spent two years with the Denver Broncos, two with the Browns, one with the Chiefs, and two with the New York Giants.