Colin Kaepernick Added to Madden 21, Earns 81 Overall Rating as Free-Agent QB

EA Sports announced an agreement with free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick on Tuesday to add him to the Madden NFL 21 video game.

Kaepernick, who last played in the NFL in 2016 with the San Francisco 49ers, has remained unsigned for the past three seasons despite stating his desire to resume his football career after starting the movement in the 2016 preseason of kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice. 

He'll be the top-rated free-agent QB available in Madden:

Along with his availability in franchise mode, EA Sports noted there will be a couple of special additions to the game involving Kaepernick.

In The Yard, a new mode based on the more improvisational style of backyard football, players will be able to outfit their create-a-player character with the Nike Kaepernick Icon Jersey 2.0.

Meanwhile, in standard modes, the quarterback's signature celebration after a big play or touchdown will be raising his fist to showcase the Black Power symbol.

EA also stated Madden NFL 21 will be free to play for all gamers from Thursday through Sunday of Week 1 to give everybody a chance to use Kaepernick.

His 81 overall rating might be debatable, though, given some of the quarterbacks with lower ratings:

• Tennessee Titans' Ryan Tannehill (80)
• Las Vegas Raiders' Derek Carr (79)
• Cleveland Browns' Baker Mayfield (78)
• New England Patriots' Cam Newton (78)
• Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen (77)
• Arizona Cardinals' Kyler Murray (77)

He's also rated higher than 2020 first overall pick Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals, who opened his Madden career with a 76 overall mark.

EA alluded to Kaepernick's high rating and its impact on franchise mode.

"Make sure you choose the live roster file option when starting your franchise and sign Kaepernick before the start of Week 1 of the preseason because the CPU controlled-teams definitely won't miss the chance to scoop him up and make him their starter," the game developer wrote.

Madden NFL 21 was released Aug. 28 on current-gen consoles and PC. It will be available on the next-gen consoles, Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, when they release during the holiday season.