Bill Belichick is the only NFL head coach who does not appear in the Madden NFL video game franchise, but why is Belichick not in the game? What prevents him from doing so?
One of the oddities in the Madden NFL video games series is the absence of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
The six-time Super Bowl winning coach has never appeared in the Madden franchise, with game developer EA Sports forced into taking different measures for the role of Patriots coach.
But why is Bill Belichick not in the Madden NFL game. What are the reasons behind his absence from the franchise?
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Bill Belichick Madden NFL absence explained
As per with any official video game of a sports series, the developer has an agreement to use the names, likenesses and stats of the coaches and players to make it as realistic as possible for gamers.
In Madden NFL, this agreement is between EA and the NFL Coaches Association.
Belichick is not in this association, meaning EA cannot use him in the video game.
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The original agreement to use the names and likenesses of NFL coaches was reached in 2001 – and Belichick wasn’t in it then, either.
Although Belichick has never truly explained his reasons for not joining the coaches association, journalist Dan Wetzel suggested in 2012 it was down to the coach’s “rebel streak.”
What do EA do instead?
Obviously, the New England Patriots need a coach in Madden NFL to replace Bill Belichick.
The ‘character’ of Patriots coach is usually filled by a generic character name or is simply “NE Coach.”
Belichick is not the only NFL figure to not be in the Madden NFL game – with some players over the years also refusing to take part – despite the royalties they receive if they were in the game.
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