Colin Kaepernick excluded from Madden 23 as NFL continues to blackball ex-49ers QB
Colin Kaepernick seemed to have a grand plan in place to return to the NFL this year. He was conducting public workouts in the offseason during a time when a handful of teams needed an upgrade at the position. Unfortunately, nothing came from all that hard work.
He was not brought in for a serious tryout by any team, and the exclusions continue in the digital world. That digital world is "Madden 23." The quarterback was not featured in the game as a free agent, even though he was in Madden 22 with an 81 rating.
So what gives? Why is Kaepernick not even in the video game given his track record in the league and his desire to return?
The NFL keeps getting what it wants with Colin Kaepernick
There are a few fair points to be made regarding the situation. The first is that the NFL itself does not make the Madden video game franchise. However, there is a licensing agreement, so players can be featured in the game.
So no, it's not like league owners got together and personally removed him from the game. However, his exclusion does go a long way in erasing his image and memory from the collective mind of NFL fans.
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The term "blackball" has been thrown around a lot regarding the quarterback, and that's fair because he settled with the league owners over claims of collusion. The settlement seemed to indicate he was right all along about his claims.
One problem with being blackballed was that he was not able to return to the league and make millions as a quarterback. In addition, he couldn't play the game he loves.
Not being featured in "Madden 23" goes a step further because younger generations of fans may learn the sport through the video game. Thus, no mention of Kaepernick erases him from the minds of younger fans who will soon grow up and support players and teams all over the league.
So in a sense, NFL owners continue to achieve their goal of punishing those who go against their wishes. Ultimately, there is not much someone like Kaepernick can do.
"Madden 23" not including him in the game is just more proof that his NFL career is over. Twenty-twenty-two was a perfect chance to get a shot with a team like the Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans, or Carolina Panthers. All three still have questionable quarterback situations. Therefore, giving Kaepernick a shot in preseason doesn't seem like the worst thing.
Instead, he got one tryout with the Las Vegas Raiders and was not heard from again. Either it went poorly, or the team realized they did not want to bring him in with any resulting distractions.
We already knew he was blackballed in the NFL. Now, his supporters can't even sign him in the video game world to give him the comeback story he and his fans so desire.