Madden 20 Legends Roster to Support the CLF
Tax deductible
The purpose of this GO FUND ME campaign:
The item offered and the Beneficiary:
I’ve been playing football video games since the days of the Atari 2600 gaming system. I’ve been creating custom teams within the games for many, many years. This year I thought I’d create an “All Time Legends” roster for Madden 20 in an effort to raise money for the Concussion Legacy Foundation (CLF) and in honor of the 100th Anniversary of the NFL.
https://concussionfoundation.org/
100% of the proceeds will go directly to the Concussion Legacy Foundation. I am thrilled and honored to be able to donate my time and efforts in partnership with the CLF!
The CLF is the leading 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. CLF’s mission is to support athletes, Veterans, and all affected by concussions and CTE; achieve smarter sports and safer athletes through education and innovation; and to End CTE through prevention and research.
CLF is best known for their brain bank operated in partnership with Boston University and US Department of Veterans Affairs that has made global headlines by diagnosing 110 of 111 NFL players with CTE (see https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/25/sports/football/nfl-cte.html ) and diagnosing the first CTE cluster among military veterans (see https://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-scientists-seek-veterans-for-final-act-of-service/ ). But some of their most important work is educating children and parents on concussions in sports, like the CLF Media Project that trains broadcasters with the help of Bob Costas (see https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/11/8/18075776/concussions-tv-broadcast-education ). Their newest program, the CLF HelpLine (see https://concussionfoundation.org/helpline ), provides personalized help to those struggling with the outcomes of brain injury. If you or a loved one are seeking guidance on how to choose the right doctor, struggling with lingering concussion symptoms, or have any other specific questions, submit a request here, or email [email redacted] .
I realize that I’m not the only one who has created custom rosters for the Madden games now or in the past. However, I wanted to offer something that I created (following the standards described below) and enjoyed myself for a GREAT cause.
Issue and inspiration:
Are you suffering from “FWS” a.k.a. “Football Withdrawal Syndrome” now that the NFL season and the Super Bowl are over? I’d coined that name for this malady some time ago and was surprised to see that it was described during one of the Super Bowl ads this year.
While “FWS” isn’t a true health issue in connection with this effort, the subject matter described above and below TRULY is. I’m hoping that my efforts and partnership with the CLF will serve to combat this devastating health issue via this project.
In addition to raising money for an EXTREMELY worthy cause, I’m also hoping that my efforts described below will accomplish a myriad of other positive things. Why did I wait until after the Super Bowl to release this? Because of the amount of time it was going to take to properly complete my All Time Legends Roster coupled with the fact that I really wanted to wait until the price of Madden 20 was lowered from the launch price (in order to essentially make this roster available to more players). I also waited until I could proceed with the approval and endorsement of the CLF re: this campaign. All systems are now GO!!
Reason and Charity benefactor behind this Go Fund Me:
While I was researching all of the players in order to create my All Time Legends roster for Madden 20 (as described below), there was one saddening fact that was reinforced over and over as I reviewed each player’s personal data. Far too many players passed away at far too young of an age. I was aware of this fact; however, pouring over the data at the various reference sites really emphasized this sad but true fact.
Further research re: the far too early passing of many of these Legends linked their deaths and illnesses to concussion related issues. Because of this, I came up with a “Go Fund Me” idea to turn my investment of time into this endeavor in order to help current or retired NFL athletes who’ve suffered concussion related issues (along with any other athletes who’ve been affected by this issue).
In addition to the CLF history/information mentioned and linked above, I urge you to review these articles:
https://www.cnn.com/2017/07/25/health/cte-nfl-players-brains-study/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/10/health/tau-cte-football-study/index.html
In spite of the fact that I thought people would possibly pay for an All Time Legends roster, I had no interest in selling my roster to Madden gamers as I wasn’t doing this in an effort to make money for myself. Further, I thought that players would be willing to make a donation to a worthy charity if the “freebie” benefit to them was a historical roster created as a tribute to all the Legends of the NFL who’ve given us fans so much for so many years.
Donating money (whatever you can afford – maybe $5?, basically the cost of a Starbucks beverage) is a “win win” for the CLF, the current and retired athletes, and you as a football gamer. There is no “downside” to making a donation.
I hope you are as thrilled to donate to this cause as I was to be able to partner with the CLF after creating my All Legends Roster.
Best case scenario, you’ll have made a donation towards an extremely worthy cause and ended up with a roster you’ll love playing Madden 20 with as much as I do!
Worst case scenario, you’ll have made a donation towards an extremely worthy cause and ended up with a roster you don’t enjoy playing Madden 20 with (keeping in mind that you can edit the roster yourself in order to change whatever you’d like in any shape or fashion).
In either case, you’ll have helped fund one of the most worthy charities out there to benefit current and retired football players and athletes. As I stated, this is a “win win” situation in my book.
My plan is to leave the Go Fund Me site open until Madden 21 is released (or until the fundraising goal is reached). Hopefully Madden 21 will contain (or offer as a download) what I’m essentially offering for free. If you download the roster after the Go Fund Me is closed, you’re always free to make a donation to the CLF directly.
Roster Download Name:
The name of my roster download file located within the “Roster” tab of the “Download Community Files” section of Madden 20 is “NFLLEGENDS2K20” and my Gamertag is “Moto Guzzi Dude.” I hope you enjoy it! It is a XBOX ONE download within the Roster Download Community.
Please note: If you attempt to download my roster and the EA servers say that I’ve removed or deleted the roster it is an error on their part. I HAVE NOT deleted or removed the roster. Please try again. Their servers appear to have glitches it seems. The easiest way to find my roster is by searching for my Gamertag of “Moto Guzzi Dude.” Just to be sure my roster is still there and available, I downloaded my roster as a test and was successful today on 3-25-2020 (after 3 attempts). Enjoy!!
Details re: the CLF All-Time Greatest Team and my NFL Legends Roster 2K20:
In an effort to promote player safety and awareness, the CLF has assembled the “Flag Football Under 14 All-Time Greatest Team,” composed entirely of players who did not start tackle football until high school, to illustrate that it is better to wait. This demonstrates that waiting until high school to play tackle football has not held back some of the greatest players in NFL history.
https://concussionfoundation.org/programs/flag-football/all-time-team
The CLF’s All-Time Team is made up of the following players:
(Note: Gold indicates Pro Football Hall of Fame)
All of the CLF All-Time Team players depicted above are included within my All Time Legends 1,696 Player Roster within the following teams and are wearing the numbers as listed/described:
1. RB/FB Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns – wearing #32.
2. RB/HB Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears – wearing #34.
3. TE John Mackey of the San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers – wearing #89. John Mackey spent the majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts (wearing #88 there). However, in order to stay within the numbering parameter I was forced to place Legend Mackey on the last team he played for instead (the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers). #88 was also worn by Colt’s Legendary WR Marvin Harrison (also it was only number he ever wore in the NFL). Since he was the Colt’s leading receiver of all time I simply could not leave him off of the Colts roster or assign him an incorrect jersey number (to either player).
4. WR Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders – wearing #80 on both teams.
5. QB Tom Brady of the New England Patriots – wearing #12.
6. WR Tim Brown of the Oakland Raiders – wearing #81.
7. OT Anthony Munoz of the Cincinnati Bengals – wearing #78.
8. OG Larry Allen of the Dallas Cowboys – wearing #73.
9. C Dermontti Dawson of the Pittsburgh Steelers – wearing #63.
10. OL Matt Birk of the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens – wearing #78 with the Vikings and #77 with the Ravens.
11. OT Walter Jones of the Seattle Seahawks – wearing #71.
12. DE Michael Strahan of the New York Giants – wearing #92.
13. DT Dan Hampton of the Chicago Bears – wearing #99. Legend Hampton started and spent the majority of his career with the Bears as a LE so he was placed as a LE versus a DT within my roster.
14. DT Warren Sapp of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – wearing #99.
15. DE Julius Peppers of the Carolina Panthers – wearing #90.
16. LB Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants – wearing #56.
17. LB Willie Lanier of the Kansas City Chiefs – wearing #63.
18. LB Harry Carson of the New York Giants – wearing #53.
19. CB Mike Haynes of the New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders – wearing #40 with the Patriots and #22 with the Raiders.
20. S Jack Tatum of the Oakland Raiders – wearing #31. Legend Tatum wore #31 during the first 3 years with the Raiders. He then wore #32 for the remainder of his career with the Raiders. However, HOF Legend Marcus Allen also wore #32 (exclusively with the Raiders) and as such I had no choice but to assign #32 to Legend Allen.
21. S Everson Walls of the Dallas Cowboys – wearing #24.
22. CB Hanford Dixon of the Cleveland Browns – wearing #29.
Once you've downloaded my roster, you can review all of the 32 team rosters and the Legends within. My roster contains all of the Legends above along with 119 current Legends and 1,555 additional retired and created Legends (for a total of 1,696 Legendary players). It's trip down NFL Legends Memory Lane! After you've reviewed the roster and/or played the game, I hope it motivates you to donate to the CLF!
Please note that the numerical overall Team ratings displayed within the game (when you are choosing your teams to play) are set by EA Sports and are not based upon the ratings of the players I’ve created within this roster. As an example, my New England Patriots All Legends created team rates at an average of "94" versus EA Sports’ team rating of a much lower score of “81”.
My All Time NFL Legends rosters were governed by the following parameters:
Choosing players that are Hall of Fame inductees, leading passing, rushing, receiving, kick and punt returners, and kicking players for each team, players whose jersey numbers are retired, or are ranked essentially as a living “Legend” by the fans.
Ensuring players were assigned to their correct positions (of course, you can move them if you like).
Ensuring players were assigned high skill levels given their Legend status (akin to the “Madden Elites’” “Madden Legends,” and Madden Ultimate Team player ratings within the Madden 19 and 20 games). I referenced several players from the Madden 19 Elites and Legends players (also influenced by the current MUT Legends players) to determine the skills that required the appropriate boost.
Ensuring players were assigned correct jersey numbers (a challenge due to the fact that you can only assign a number once regardless if the position is on offense or defense).
Ensuring players have correct heights and weights entered.
Ensuring players have their names spelled correctly.
Ensuring the player’s city and state of birth was correct. Because the chat pad is NOT enabled (OY!), entering the player’s city of birth and scrolling over to the player’s state of birth was extremely time consuming factoring 1,696 players. In spite of this, I completed the task. However, it was disappointing to learn that this data serves a questionable purpose. Since I’ve yet to hear the player’s city or state of birth be mentioned during the in-game audio what purpose does it serve? However, if the in-game audio ever includes this data, it will be there for reference (the only game usable point I could determine). Also, if a player wasn’t born in the United States, I selected “NON-US” in the slider for the player’s state of birth. For some reason, after you save the player, it would default back to “Alabama” or “Wyoming” versus saving the correct selection of “NON-US.” As an example, Bronko Nagurski of the Bears was born in Rainy River, Ontario, Canada. Not Rainy River, Ontario, Alabama. In spite of the games shortfall’s re: this factor, the correct data was entered.
Ensuring that the player’s correct college was selected. Scrolling through all the colleges was also very time consuming (given there are 1,696 players). Again, I have yet to hear a player’s college being mentioned other than for a QB that was a current Legend and already within the game. It was also disappointing to discover that several colleges were left out of the college database (during my creation process I identified well over 70 colleges that were left out of the database of names). Data is important if it serves a purpose. Perhaps the in-game audio will one day include this data as well. I hope so!
Due to the limit on Created Players, you have no choice but to write over existing players in order to create complete rosters such as this one. When doing so, you can’t edit the date of birth for the player or their number of years in the NFL. As such, a player may be incorrectly referred to a “Rookie” or several year veteran within the in-game commentary. The date of birth and years playing doesn’t add much to the game experience anyways IMHO so I wasn’t too concerned about it. Plus, you have no choice but to live with whatever data exists for the player you are writing over because of the create a player limitation.
Ensuring players have the correct equipment selected (e.g. correct cages and/or helmets or as close as possible, etc.).
Ensuring that players have a correct appearance insofar as the face and skin tones selected. Sometimes the size of the head/corresponding helmet was the priority though for the sake of appearance. Overall, I’m very pleased re: how the players look in the game. Some of the players in the game really look like their real faces (to me anyways).
Ensuring that all of the rosters have a correct number of players assigned (standard 53 man roster).
I also found and fixed 39 data points that were incorrect re: a number of current players included with the game and that are included within my Legends Roster. On the plus side for me, I guess they serve as data points to identify my roster should it be amended and re-uploaded by another gamer. I guess it’s my metadata.
During the creation of these teams, I reviewed and ensured that the following data points were correct for each of the 1,696 players (as best as the Google image and information data searches provided):
▪ 11 “Appearance” data points (including height, weight, skin tone and face)
▪ 28 “Equipment” data points
▪ 41 offensive rating data points
▪ 33 defensive rating data points
▪ 16 “Attributes” data points.
That’s over 200,000 data points that I reviewed/amended to create this roster. Phew!! At over 14 hours of research and roster amendment time per team, I invested basically eleven 40 hour work weeks to complete this project. However, it was SO worth it!
Team composition parameters:
My goal was to create 32 teams with 53 man rosters made up of the following positions:
Offense:
Quarterbacks – 4
Halfbacks – 4
Fullbacks – 2
Wide Receivers – 6
Tight Ends – 3
Left Tackles – 2
Left Guards – 2
Centers – 2
Right Guards – 2
Right Tackles – 2
Defense:
Left Ends – 2
Right Ends – 2
Defensive Tackles – 3
Left Outside Linebackers – 2
Middle Linebackers – 3
Right Outside Linebackers – 2
Cornerbacks – 4
Free Safeties – 2
Strong Safeties – 2
Kicker – 1
Punter – 1
All 32 created teams have this composition. Choosing 53 players that were retired or living and currently playing “Legends” without using a number twice within the team was a challenge (like a HUGE football jigsaw puzzle). I was able to accomplish this goal for all but four players. In all four of those cases, one Legend wore the same number as another Legend but it would have been a disappointment/shortfall to leave the 2nd player off due to their greatness. Four players out of 1,696 isn’t too bad though IMHO.
As such, the only four players wearing an incorrect number within my created roster are as follows:
Dallas Cowboys legendary WR and at the time the fastest man on earth Bob Hayes (his number was 22 but has been assigned #23) – Since RB Emmitt Smith wore #22, he gets the nod as he’s still the Cowboys all time rushing leader. Further, the Cowboys don’t have any jersey numbers officially retired, but they’ve taken 8, 12 and 22 out of circulation after they were worn by Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach and Emmitt Smith, respectively. Bob Hayes’ number was also 22 while he was playing at FAMU; so, unfortunately I can’t assign his college number either.
Detroit Lions legendary CB and Ball Hawk Lem Barney (his number with the Lions was 20 but has been assigned #26) – Since RB Barry Sanders wore #20, he gets the nod as he’s still the Lions all time rushing leader and the Lions have retired his jersey number. Further, #26 was Lem Barney’s number at Jackson State and that’s the number he really wanted when he became a Detroit Lion. (https://www.mlive.com/sports/2016/06/lions_legend_lem_barney_talks.html )
Detroit Lions legendary WR and all time Lions receiving leader Calvin Johnson a.k.a. “Megatron” (his number with the Lions was 81 but has been assigned #21) – Since Night Train Lane also wore #81, he gets the nod as he wore it first. However, #21 was Calvin Johnson’s jersey number when he played at Georgia Tech so it’s still tied to him as a player.
Miami Dolphins legendary FS and Ball Hawk Jake Scott (his number with the Dolphins was 13 but has been assigned #16) – Since QB Dan Marino also wore #13, he gets the nod since the Dolphins have retired #13 in honor of Dan Marino. I wanted to assign Jake Scott’s college (Georgia) number but he also wore #13 with Georgia. However, he wore #16 when he was a freshman/sophomore in high school so I’ve assigned #16 to him. https://wlathletics.org/main/alumnibio/contentid/42228008 I wanted to assign #21 to him (his junior/senior number at Bullis High School), but that number was already taken by RB Jim Kiick before Jake Scott joined the team and I didn’t want to bump Jim Kiick from the roster or assign him a number other than #21. Special shout out to Bullis High School Sports Information Director Joe Teets for researching Jake Scott’s junior/senior year information and for sending me a picture from a vintage yearbook to confirm the #21!
Player Creation/Modification Guidelines I followed:
A currently playing player was added to the team only if their ratings were near the top of the databases used as a source (as referenced below). Or, if they were a HUGE fan favorite and would someday undoubtedly be considered to be a “Legend,” I included them within the roster.
Validated that the Right or Left handed trait was correct for the Quarterbacks, Kickers and Punters.
I Google image searched each and every player in order to get the appearance correct for their face, their equipment and physical qualities (as close as possible).
As I previously stated, some specific faces were selected to ensure that the player’s head was in proportion to their body size. The size of the head selected always was a priority over the face appearance. I decided that it was better to have a normal looking head size given you only see a small portion of the face occasionally during the game.
If their college wasn’t among the database of colleges I went with the State that the college was located in (I was surprised to discover that that Boston University (BU) was not in the database; however, Boston College (BC) was!).
Whether or not the Flak Jacket was worn by all QBs was checked based upon the images I could see online. The Flak Jacket was invented in the fall of 1978 so I took that into consideration also. (https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/sports/football/byron-donzis-inventor-of-football-flak-jacket-dies-at-79.html )
Reference sources used to validate the player data within my roster:
Pro Football Reference Database used to determine name, height, weight, hometown, college, position they played, and where they ranked on the respective teams all time career leaders lists (https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ).
20 Yardline database used as a starting point for all teams to determine the All Time Starting Lineups (http://www.20yardline.com/home-page.html ).
Ranker.com website used to determine other Legends who should be placed on the rosters for each team (https://www.ranker.com/collections/nfl-players-ranked-by-team?ref=collection_header ).
Bleacher Report website used to determine other Legends who should be placed on the rosters for each team (https://bleacherreport.com/ ).
Local newspaper articles and dedicated team websites also used to determine other Legends who should be placed on the rosters for each team.
As I previously stated, Google Image search was utilized to ensure that the correct equipment and physical characteristics were selected for each and every player.
“Free Agent” Notes:
There were a few current players on their respective teams that I would have placed within my roster were it not for a number conflict or the fact that there weren’t other “Legends” that should have priority on the roster (in my opinion). Some of these players were placed into the Free Agent pool should you wish to place them back on the current roster.
CAUTION: Just remember to release the player from the current roster that shares the same number BEFORE you add the Free Agent player to the active roster (in order to avoid a number collision).
Of course, you’re free to amend any players on the active roster to another Legend if you wish. Just remember that you can’t change the number to anything but a number not already used (unless you’re happy with an incorrect number being assigned).
Miscellaneous Notes/Observations/Adjustments:
I’ve added HB Ernie Davis to the roster of the Cleveland Browns. Since this roster is a fantasy roster it would be a HUGE disappointment not to include maybe the greatest player who missed his chance to shine in the NFL due to illness. Who knows what records he would have shattered given his greatness! Now you can have fun with what could have been!
If a Legend isn’t on one of your favorite teams, please check the other teams that they played on. Chances are that they are on one of the other teams as they may have fit there number-wise or may have played more years on another team and were more correctly assigned to that team.
Sadly, there was no number “00” for Oakland Raider Legend Jim Otto available. As such, I went with “50” which was his rookie year number. Also, since both Ken Stabler and Rich Gannon wore #12, you can’t have them both on the team at the same time with their correct jersey number. As such, I’ve created a Rich Gannon player and placed him in the Free Agent pool. If you wish to swap him for Ken Stabler, just release Ken Stabler and add Rich Gannon to the active roster.
Injured Reserve player note: Players that were designated as “Injured Reserve” within the Madden roster I used as the basis to create this roster cannot be released from the active roster unfortunately. As such, they appear within the roster but will not be on the field unless you place them there by amending the starting lineup once you’ve started a game. Oddly enough, you can do this. I also noticed an “Injured Reserve” status player dressed and within the team running out on the field during the starting game animation. Oddly enough again, they shouldn’t be dressed or able to be added to the in-game experience/play since they’re on “Injured Reserve” status. This is a bug that hopefully EA will correct in the future. Also, there were a few Legend players that were on IR status that I then accordingly created a new player for with the appropriate ratings etc. and then added them to the appropriate team. This was done in order to include them in my roster and avoid fooling around with the starting lineup during the game. On a few of the players tagged with IR status, I also changed their name to “Injured Reserve” to avoid confusion (having two players with the same name within the team).
Kickoff and Punt Return designations: Since many of the players that are listed as the leading Kick and Punt returners are not within the Legends rosters due to the above parameters I used (other than “Neon” Deion Sanders, “Windy City Flyer” Devin Hester or “Human Joystick” Dante Hall to name a few), I’ve done my best to set the starting lineup as advantageous as possible given the ratings, the available players within the rosters, and the historical data re: the leading KR and PR leaders. Since the Cornerbacks were rated using high performing Legends such as Deion Sanders as a reference, they serve well to fill any missing slots needed in the starting KR and PR lineups. Of course, you are free to amend anything you like there as well.
Suggestions for EA Sports (I hope EA Sports reads this part!):
I sincerely hope that EA Sports will examine this Go Fund Me site and use my roster as a reference base (for real or as an inspiration) and include a version of it (updated each year as the appropriate Legends are added). They could also easily offer it within the game as an optional and for sale download pack via the Microsoft or Playstation Store. Since they have the face scans, appropriate uniforms, helmets, face masks and everything else they could really put an impressive download pack together! They could even add the original leather helmets for players like the legendary FB Bronko Nagurski of the Chicago Bears along with other missing equipment options (e.g. foam hand and forearm guards, fingerless gloves). They have this data within their Madden Ultimate Team (MUT) data so I know it exists. MUT is great but even if you assemble an all Legends roster for your chosen team you can’t play against an All Legends team roster of another team within. This is a huge void IMHO. Having an All Legends Roster within the game would facilitate online All Legends matches too!!
I know EA Sports values this feature because it was included within NHL 20 this year! Playing as the All Time Legends Edmonton Oilers with Gretzky, Messier, Kurri and the other Legends is the BOMB!
If EA chooses not to include an All Time Legends roster within the game, then my suggestion is for EA to offer a download roster pack for $9.99 with ½ of the proceeds going to the Concussion Legacy Foundation. They could do this each and every year as long as Madden exists and could be updated as Legends are appropriately added to the ranks. The Madden video game wouldn’t flourish nearly as much without these NFL Legends and I think it would be a fitting and responsible dedication to all of those who sacrificed so much to make the NFL what it is today.
Or, if EA Sports won’t include an All Time Legends roster as such, perhaps the NFL will grant another video game developer with the rights to create a NFL game so that they could do it. I can’t imagine passing on this public relations opportunity to pay homage to all of the greats who’ve made the NFL what it is today and in conjunction provide funds to help an EXTREMELY worthy cause!
As the retired player and Legend Randy Moss would say…..”COME ON MAN!!!”
About Me:
I’ve been playing football video games since the days of the regular Atari 2600 gaming system. I’ve been an avid football video gamer throughout all of the following system eras as well: Nintendo (TECMO Bowl ROCKED!), Sega Genesis, Sony Playstation, Original XBOX, Sony PS2, XBOX 360, Sony PS3, Sony PS4 and now the XBOX ONE.
Post the launch of 2K Sports’ NFL2K5, I used a roster editor and the downloadable rosters at nfl2k5roster.com to create current rosters in order to keep the game current.
Post the launch of 2K Sports’ All Pro Football 2K8, I created several “All Legends” teams made up of the players included with the game and also with created players up to the allowed limits. Playing with “All Legends” teams head to head against other teams has been one of the most enjoyable experiences for me when football gaming.
During the glory years of EA Sport’s NCAA Football games, I was a huge fan/player of the game and the Teambuilder option within the game. Each year, I would create 120 teams with accurate roster data (the maximum permitted if you purchased the Max Teambuilder slots) and enjoyed playing as my created teams while watching the download numbers climb re: these same teams. My created teams were highly accepted and downloaded. As an example, for NCAA 14 (the last year of the series), my Appalachian State Mountaineers team was the 3rd most downloaded team at well over 10,000 downloads. Several of my other teams were always within the top 50 downloaded teams each and every year. Sadly, the Teambuilder site was taken down and you can no longer create teams or determine how many times your teams have been downloaded. Oh well, it was great while it lasted. Hopefully someday EA or 2K Sports (hopefully/perhaps) will figure out how to legally create a NCAA Football video game again. There’s a HUGE void in the world of football gaming that desperately needs to be filled!
Because of my experiences and enjoyment re: creating teams during all of these years and as I stated at the beginning, I am thrilled to partner with the CLF and offer this Madden 20 roster to the community with the hopes of benefitting current and former athletes.
So, how does the game play with all these Legends?
To me, it’s like playing with the Madden Elites, Legends or MUT teams within Madden. As a reference, I set my game skill level at the All-Madden difficulty setting. I also set the run assist and fumble tendency to 75% (for me and the CPU) to enhance the ability to run the ball and avoid excessive fumbles. If you don’t cover the ball, you risk fumbling when a defensive Legend hits your player or tackles you. This is no different than real life and would certainly be the case if you were being tackled by the retired player and Legend Ray Lewis and didn’t cover the ball. Good luck holding on to the ball! This seems to work perfectly for my ability given you’re playing against an all Legends roster. Also, if you pass to a receiver that isn’t truly open, you will have the pass batted down or intercepted given the skill level of these players. Of course, you can adjust all the sliders to match your abilities. You can even set the slider to “even teams” if you like. It’s all about what works for you and what is FUN! There was no way for me to set the skill levels of the players to match each and every player’s abilities so that is in your court. However, since the players skill ratings mirror those of last year’s Madden Elites and Legends it’s basically the same experience as that.
Here are some screenshots of the end of game summary board as the players run by to give you an idea of what I’ve experienced (with a short game note underneath – I don’t claim to be the best or worst Madden player – it wouldn’t be official anyways). Thank you and enjoy!!
I managed to squeak out a 1 point win over the Patriots with the Saints in New England. I tried a 2 point conversion twice and was stopped. Fortunately for me the clock ran out at the end of the 4th before the Patriots could kick what would have been the game winning field goal.
I came close to winning at home with the Jets over Patriots. But since this wasn’t horseshoes it didn’t count for much.
Bo Jackson and his TECMO Bowl running game was equaled by my Adrian Peterson effort but I was intercepted 3 times by the ball hawks of the Raiders. It felt like Super Bowl 11 all over again.
In spite of my running game, the Oakland ball hawks intercepted me twice to prevent my win. I see a pattern.
This time my Eddie George running game and turning the tables re: interceptions gave me a win against the tough Raiders!
Between Clinton Portis and John Riggins, the Redskins running game rules even against the mighty Ravens D!
In spite of two fumbles and an INT, I managed to squeak out a win with the Patriots over the only NFL team to win the Super Bowl along with having a perfect season.
An interception in the end zone by FS Bennie Blades and a fumble forced by MLB Joe Schmidt allowed me to squeak out a win of 14 to 11 over the Raiders (they were able to pull off a 2 point conversion). Barry Sanders versus TECMO Bowl Bo Jackson!
Close game (I played as the Panthers) right up to the end where the Bills punched the FG as the clock expired! These losses fester.
In spite of being intercepted twice, I managed another TD courtesy of the legendary FB Jim Brown to win the game!
Here’s a highlight picture from the above game. Since Madden 20 allows for more than 10 characters in the player’s last name, you can now watch the legendary WR Cris Collinsworth in all of his glory scoring a TD as a Bengal! The legendary SS Clarence Scott of the Browns nearly caught him!
In spite of my LT running game, QB Lamar Jackson managed to rocket the Ravens to a win over the Chargers. Fun and close game!
Another nail biter game the ended with the Dolphins punching the FG through as time expired on the Buccaneers! Got to love the Florida rivalry!!
Did I mention that this game with an all Legends rosters is FUN?!
The item offered and the Beneficiary:
I’ve been playing football video games since the days of the Atari 2600 gaming system. I’ve been creating custom teams within the games for many, many years. This year I thought I’d create an “All Time Legends” roster for Madden 20 in an effort to raise money for the Concussion Legacy Foundation (CLF) and in honor of the 100th Anniversary of the NFL.
https://concussionfoundation.org/
100% of the proceeds will go directly to the Concussion Legacy Foundation. I am thrilled and honored to be able to donate my time and efforts in partnership with the CLF!
The CLF is the leading 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. CLF’s mission is to support athletes, Veterans, and all affected by concussions and CTE; achieve smarter sports and safer athletes through education and innovation; and to End CTE through prevention and research.
CLF is best known for their brain bank operated in partnership with Boston University and US Department of Veterans Affairs that has made global headlines by diagnosing 110 of 111 NFL players with CTE (see https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/25/sports/football/nfl-cte.html ) and diagnosing the first CTE cluster among military veterans (see https://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-scientists-seek-veterans-for-final-act-of-service/ ). But some of their most important work is educating children and parents on concussions in sports, like the CLF Media Project that trains broadcasters with the help of Bob Costas (see https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/11/8/18075776/concussions-tv-broadcast-education ). Their newest program, the CLF HelpLine (see https://concussionfoundation.org/helpline ), provides personalized help to those struggling with the outcomes of brain injury. If you or a loved one are seeking guidance on how to choose the right doctor, struggling with lingering concussion symptoms, or have any other specific questions, submit a request here, or email [email redacted] .
I realize that I’m not the only one who has created custom rosters for the Madden games now or in the past. However, I wanted to offer something that I created (following the standards described below) and enjoyed myself for a GREAT cause.
Issue and inspiration:
Are you suffering from “FWS” a.k.a. “Football Withdrawal Syndrome” now that the NFL season and the Super Bowl are over? I’d coined that name for this malady some time ago and was surprised to see that it was described during one of the Super Bowl ads this year.
While “FWS” isn’t a true health issue in connection with this effort, the subject matter described above and below TRULY is. I’m hoping that my efforts and partnership with the CLF will serve to combat this devastating health issue via this project.
In addition to raising money for an EXTREMELY worthy cause, I’m also hoping that my efforts described below will accomplish a myriad of other positive things. Why did I wait until after the Super Bowl to release this? Because of the amount of time it was going to take to properly complete my All Time Legends Roster coupled with the fact that I really wanted to wait until the price of Madden 20 was lowered from the launch price (in order to essentially make this roster available to more players). I also waited until I could proceed with the approval and endorsement of the CLF re: this campaign. All systems are now GO!!
Reason and Charity benefactor behind this Go Fund Me:
While I was researching all of the players in order to create my All Time Legends roster for Madden 20 (as described below), there was one saddening fact that was reinforced over and over as I reviewed each player’s personal data. Far too many players passed away at far too young of an age. I was aware of this fact; however, pouring over the data at the various reference sites really emphasized this sad but true fact.
Further research re: the far too early passing of many of these Legends linked their deaths and illnesses to concussion related issues. Because of this, I came up with a “Go Fund Me” idea to turn my investment of time into this endeavor in order to help current or retired NFL athletes who’ve suffered concussion related issues (along with any other athletes who’ve been affected by this issue).
In addition to the CLF history/information mentioned and linked above, I urge you to review these articles:
https://www.cnn.com/2017/07/25/health/cte-nfl-players-brains-study/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/10/health/tau-cte-football-study/index.html
In spite of the fact that I thought people would possibly pay for an All Time Legends roster, I had no interest in selling my roster to Madden gamers as I wasn’t doing this in an effort to make money for myself. Further, I thought that players would be willing to make a donation to a worthy charity if the “freebie” benefit to them was a historical roster created as a tribute to all the Legends of the NFL who’ve given us fans so much for so many years.
Donating money (whatever you can afford – maybe $5?, basically the cost of a Starbucks beverage) is a “win win” for the CLF, the current and retired athletes, and you as a football gamer. There is no “downside” to making a donation.
I hope you are as thrilled to donate to this cause as I was to be able to partner with the CLF after creating my All Legends Roster.
Best case scenario, you’ll have made a donation towards an extremely worthy cause and ended up with a roster you’ll love playing Madden 20 with as much as I do!
Worst case scenario, you’ll have made a donation towards an extremely worthy cause and ended up with a roster you don’t enjoy playing Madden 20 with (keeping in mind that you can edit the roster yourself in order to change whatever you’d like in any shape or fashion).
In either case, you’ll have helped fund one of the most worthy charities out there to benefit current and retired football players and athletes. As I stated, this is a “win win” situation in my book.
My plan is to leave the Go Fund Me site open until Madden 21 is released (or until the fundraising goal is reached). Hopefully Madden 21 will contain (or offer as a download) what I’m essentially offering for free. If you download the roster after the Go Fund Me is closed, you’re always free to make a donation to the CLF directly.
Roster Download Name:
The name of my roster download file located within the “Roster” tab of the “Download Community Files” section of Madden 20 is “NFLLEGENDS2K20” and my Gamertag is “Moto Guzzi Dude.” I hope you enjoy it! It is a XBOX ONE download within the Roster Download Community.
Please note: If you attempt to download my roster and the EA servers say that I’ve removed or deleted the roster it is an error on their part. I HAVE NOT deleted or removed the roster. Please try again. Their servers appear to have glitches it seems. The easiest way to find my roster is by searching for my Gamertag of “Moto Guzzi Dude.” Just to be sure my roster is still there and available, I downloaded my roster as a test and was successful today on 3-25-2020 (after 3 attempts). Enjoy!!
Details re: the CLF All-Time Greatest Team and my NFL Legends Roster 2K20:
In an effort to promote player safety and awareness, the CLF has assembled the “Flag Football Under 14 All-Time Greatest Team,” composed entirely of players who did not start tackle football until high school, to illustrate that it is better to wait. This demonstrates that waiting until high school to play tackle football has not held back some of the greatest players in NFL history.
https://concussionfoundation.org/programs/flag-football/all-time-team
The CLF’s All-Time Team is made up of the following players:
(Note: Gold indicates Pro Football Hall of Fame)
All of the CLF All-Time Team players depicted above are included within my All Time Legends 1,696 Player Roster within the following teams and are wearing the numbers as listed/described:
1. RB/FB Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns – wearing #32.
2. RB/HB Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears – wearing #34.
3. TE John Mackey of the San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers – wearing #89. John Mackey spent the majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts (wearing #88 there). However, in order to stay within the numbering parameter I was forced to place Legend Mackey on the last team he played for instead (the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers). #88 was also worn by Colt’s Legendary WR Marvin Harrison (also it was only number he ever wore in the NFL). Since he was the Colt’s leading receiver of all time I simply could not leave him off of the Colts roster or assign him an incorrect jersey number (to either player).
4. WR Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders – wearing #80 on both teams.
5. QB Tom Brady of the New England Patriots – wearing #12.
6. WR Tim Brown of the Oakland Raiders – wearing #81.
7. OT Anthony Munoz of the Cincinnati Bengals – wearing #78.
8. OG Larry Allen of the Dallas Cowboys – wearing #73.
9. C Dermontti Dawson of the Pittsburgh Steelers – wearing #63.
10. OL Matt Birk of the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens – wearing #78 with the Vikings and #77 with the Ravens.
11. OT Walter Jones of the Seattle Seahawks – wearing #71.
12. DE Michael Strahan of the New York Giants – wearing #92.
13. DT Dan Hampton of the Chicago Bears – wearing #99. Legend Hampton started and spent the majority of his career with the Bears as a LE so he was placed as a LE versus a DT within my roster.
14. DT Warren Sapp of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – wearing #99.
15. DE Julius Peppers of the Carolina Panthers – wearing #90.
16. LB Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants – wearing #56.
17. LB Willie Lanier of the Kansas City Chiefs – wearing #63.
18. LB Harry Carson of the New York Giants – wearing #53.
19. CB Mike Haynes of the New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders – wearing #40 with the Patriots and #22 with the Raiders.
20. S Jack Tatum of the Oakland Raiders – wearing #31. Legend Tatum wore #31 during the first 3 years with the Raiders. He then wore #32 for the remainder of his career with the Raiders. However, HOF Legend Marcus Allen also wore #32 (exclusively with the Raiders) and as such I had no choice but to assign #32 to Legend Allen.
21. S Everson Walls of the Dallas Cowboys – wearing #24.
22. CB Hanford Dixon of the Cleveland Browns – wearing #29.
Once you've downloaded my roster, you can review all of the 32 team rosters and the Legends within. My roster contains all of the Legends above along with 119 current Legends and 1,555 additional retired and created Legends (for a total of 1,696 Legendary players). It's trip down NFL Legends Memory Lane! After you've reviewed the roster and/or played the game, I hope it motivates you to donate to the CLF!
Please note that the numerical overall Team ratings displayed within the game (when you are choosing your teams to play) are set by EA Sports and are not based upon the ratings of the players I’ve created within this roster. As an example, my New England Patriots All Legends created team rates at an average of "94" versus EA Sports’ team rating of a much lower score of “81”.
My All Time NFL Legends rosters were governed by the following parameters:
Choosing players that are Hall of Fame inductees, leading passing, rushing, receiving, kick and punt returners, and kicking players for each team, players whose jersey numbers are retired, or are ranked essentially as a living “Legend” by the fans.
Ensuring players were assigned to their correct positions (of course, you can move them if you like).
Ensuring players were assigned high skill levels given their Legend status (akin to the “Madden Elites’” “Madden Legends,” and Madden Ultimate Team player ratings within the Madden 19 and 20 games). I referenced several players from the Madden 19 Elites and Legends players (also influenced by the current MUT Legends players) to determine the skills that required the appropriate boost.
Ensuring players were assigned correct jersey numbers (a challenge due to the fact that you can only assign a number once regardless if the position is on offense or defense).
Ensuring players have correct heights and weights entered.
Ensuring players have their names spelled correctly.
Ensuring the player’s city and state of birth was correct. Because the chat pad is NOT enabled (OY!), entering the player’s city of birth and scrolling over to the player’s state of birth was extremely time consuming factoring 1,696 players. In spite of this, I completed the task. However, it was disappointing to learn that this data serves a questionable purpose. Since I’ve yet to hear the player’s city or state of birth be mentioned during the in-game audio what purpose does it serve? However, if the in-game audio ever includes this data, it will be there for reference (the only game usable point I could determine). Also, if a player wasn’t born in the United States, I selected “NON-US” in the slider for the player’s state of birth. For some reason, after you save the player, it would default back to “Alabama” or “Wyoming” versus saving the correct selection of “NON-US.” As an example, Bronko Nagurski of the Bears was born in Rainy River, Ontario, Canada. Not Rainy River, Ontario, Alabama. In spite of the games shortfall’s re: this factor, the correct data was entered.
Ensuring that the player’s correct college was selected. Scrolling through all the colleges was also very time consuming (given there are 1,696 players). Again, I have yet to hear a player’s college being mentioned other than for a QB that was a current Legend and already within the game. It was also disappointing to discover that several colleges were left out of the college database (during my creation process I identified well over 70 colleges that were left out of the database of names). Data is important if it serves a purpose. Perhaps the in-game audio will one day include this data as well. I hope so!
Due to the limit on Created Players, you have no choice but to write over existing players in order to create complete rosters such as this one. When doing so, you can’t edit the date of birth for the player or their number of years in the NFL. As such, a player may be incorrectly referred to a “Rookie” or several year veteran within the in-game commentary. The date of birth and years playing doesn’t add much to the game experience anyways IMHO so I wasn’t too concerned about it. Plus, you have no choice but to live with whatever data exists for the player you are writing over because of the create a player limitation.
Ensuring players have the correct equipment selected (e.g. correct cages and/or helmets or as close as possible, etc.).
Ensuring that players have a correct appearance insofar as the face and skin tones selected. Sometimes the size of the head/corresponding helmet was the priority though for the sake of appearance. Overall, I’m very pleased re: how the players look in the game. Some of the players in the game really look like their real faces (to me anyways).
Ensuring that all of the rosters have a correct number of players assigned (standard 53 man roster).
I also found and fixed 39 data points that were incorrect re: a number of current players included with the game and that are included within my Legends Roster. On the plus side for me, I guess they serve as data points to identify my roster should it be amended and re-uploaded by another gamer. I guess it’s my metadata.
During the creation of these teams, I reviewed and ensured that the following data points were correct for each of the 1,696 players (as best as the Google image and information data searches provided):
▪ 11 “Appearance” data points (including height, weight, skin tone and face)
▪ 28 “Equipment” data points
▪ 41 offensive rating data points
▪ 33 defensive rating data points
▪ 16 “Attributes” data points.
That’s over 200,000 data points that I reviewed/amended to create this roster. Phew!! At over 14 hours of research and roster amendment time per team, I invested basically eleven 40 hour work weeks to complete this project. However, it was SO worth it!
Team composition parameters:
My goal was to create 32 teams with 53 man rosters made up of the following positions:
Offense:
Quarterbacks – 4
Halfbacks – 4
Fullbacks – 2
Wide Receivers – 6
Tight Ends – 3
Left Tackles – 2
Left Guards – 2
Centers – 2
Right Guards – 2
Right Tackles – 2
Defense:
Left Ends – 2
Right Ends – 2
Defensive Tackles – 3
Left Outside Linebackers – 2
Middle Linebackers – 3
Right Outside Linebackers – 2
Cornerbacks – 4
Free Safeties – 2
Strong Safeties – 2
Kicker – 1
Punter – 1
All 32 created teams have this composition. Choosing 53 players that were retired or living and currently playing “Legends” without using a number twice within the team was a challenge (like a HUGE football jigsaw puzzle). I was able to accomplish this goal for all but four players. In all four of those cases, one Legend wore the same number as another Legend but it would have been a disappointment/shortfall to leave the 2nd player off due to their greatness. Four players out of 1,696 isn’t too bad though IMHO.
As such, the only four players wearing an incorrect number within my created roster are as follows:
Dallas Cowboys legendary WR and at the time the fastest man on earth Bob Hayes (his number was 22 but has been assigned #23) – Since RB Emmitt Smith wore #22, he gets the nod as he’s still the Cowboys all time rushing leader. Further, the Cowboys don’t have any jersey numbers officially retired, but they’ve taken 8, 12 and 22 out of circulation after they were worn by Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach and Emmitt Smith, respectively. Bob Hayes’ number was also 22 while he was playing at FAMU; so, unfortunately I can’t assign his college number either.
Detroit Lions legendary CB and Ball Hawk Lem Barney (his number with the Lions was 20 but has been assigned #26) – Since RB Barry Sanders wore #20, he gets the nod as he’s still the Lions all time rushing leader and the Lions have retired his jersey number. Further, #26 was Lem Barney’s number at Jackson State and that’s the number he really wanted when he became a Detroit Lion. (https://www.mlive.com/sports/2016/06/lions_legend_lem_barney_talks.html )
Detroit Lions legendary WR and all time Lions receiving leader Calvin Johnson a.k.a. “Megatron” (his number with the Lions was 81 but has been assigned #21) – Since Night Train Lane also wore #81, he gets the nod as he wore it first. However, #21 was Calvin Johnson’s jersey number when he played at Georgia Tech so it’s still tied to him as a player.
Miami Dolphins legendary FS and Ball Hawk Jake Scott (his number with the Dolphins was 13 but has been assigned #16) – Since QB Dan Marino also wore #13, he gets the nod since the Dolphins have retired #13 in honor of Dan Marino. I wanted to assign Jake Scott’s college (Georgia) number but he also wore #13 with Georgia. However, he wore #16 when he was a freshman/sophomore in high school so I’ve assigned #16 to him. https://wlathletics.org/main/alumnibio/contentid/42228008 I wanted to assign #21 to him (his junior/senior number at Bullis High School), but that number was already taken by RB Jim Kiick before Jake Scott joined the team and I didn’t want to bump Jim Kiick from the roster or assign him a number other than #21. Special shout out to Bullis High School Sports Information Director Joe Teets for researching Jake Scott’s junior/senior year information and for sending me a picture from a vintage yearbook to confirm the #21!
Player Creation/Modification Guidelines I followed:
A currently playing player was added to the team only if their ratings were near the top of the databases used as a source (as referenced below). Or, if they were a HUGE fan favorite and would someday undoubtedly be considered to be a “Legend,” I included them within the roster.
Validated that the Right or Left handed trait was correct for the Quarterbacks, Kickers and Punters.
I Google image searched each and every player in order to get the appearance correct for their face, their equipment and physical qualities (as close as possible).
As I previously stated, some specific faces were selected to ensure that the player’s head was in proportion to their body size. The size of the head selected always was a priority over the face appearance. I decided that it was better to have a normal looking head size given you only see a small portion of the face occasionally during the game.
If their college wasn’t among the database of colleges I went with the State that the college was located in (I was surprised to discover that that Boston University (BU) was not in the database; however, Boston College (BC) was!).
Whether or not the Flak Jacket was worn by all QBs was checked based upon the images I could see online. The Flak Jacket was invented in the fall of 1978 so I took that into consideration also. (https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/sports/football/byron-donzis-inventor-of-football-flak-jacket-dies-at-79.html )
Reference sources used to validate the player data within my roster:
Pro Football Reference Database used to determine name, height, weight, hometown, college, position they played, and where they ranked on the respective teams all time career leaders lists (https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ).
20 Yardline database used as a starting point for all teams to determine the All Time Starting Lineups (http://www.20yardline.com/home-page.html ).
Ranker.com website used to determine other Legends who should be placed on the rosters for each team (https://www.ranker.com/collections/nfl-players-ranked-by-team?ref=collection_header ).
Bleacher Report website used to determine other Legends who should be placed on the rosters for each team (https://bleacherreport.com/ ).
Local newspaper articles and dedicated team websites also used to determine other Legends who should be placed on the rosters for each team.
As I previously stated, Google Image search was utilized to ensure that the correct equipment and physical characteristics were selected for each and every player.
“Free Agent” Notes:
There were a few current players on their respective teams that I would have placed within my roster were it not for a number conflict or the fact that there weren’t other “Legends” that should have priority on the roster (in my opinion). Some of these players were placed into the Free Agent pool should you wish to place them back on the current roster.
CAUTION: Just remember to release the player from the current roster that shares the same number BEFORE you add the Free Agent player to the active roster (in order to avoid a number collision).
Of course, you’re free to amend any players on the active roster to another Legend if you wish. Just remember that you can’t change the number to anything but a number not already used (unless you’re happy with an incorrect number being assigned).
Miscellaneous Notes/Observations/Adjustments:
I’ve added HB Ernie Davis to the roster of the Cleveland Browns. Since this roster is a fantasy roster it would be a HUGE disappointment not to include maybe the greatest player who missed his chance to shine in the NFL due to illness. Who knows what records he would have shattered given his greatness! Now you can have fun with what could have been!
If a Legend isn’t on one of your favorite teams, please check the other teams that they played on. Chances are that they are on one of the other teams as they may have fit there number-wise or may have played more years on another team and were more correctly assigned to that team.
Sadly, there was no number “00” for Oakland Raider Legend Jim Otto available. As such, I went with “50” which was his rookie year number. Also, since both Ken Stabler and Rich Gannon wore #12, you can’t have them both on the team at the same time with their correct jersey number. As such, I’ve created a Rich Gannon player and placed him in the Free Agent pool. If you wish to swap him for Ken Stabler, just release Ken Stabler and add Rich Gannon to the active roster.
Injured Reserve player note: Players that were designated as “Injured Reserve” within the Madden roster I used as the basis to create this roster cannot be released from the active roster unfortunately. As such, they appear within the roster but will not be on the field unless you place them there by amending the starting lineup once you’ve started a game. Oddly enough, you can do this. I also noticed an “Injured Reserve” status player dressed and within the team running out on the field during the starting game animation. Oddly enough again, they shouldn’t be dressed or able to be added to the in-game experience/play since they’re on “Injured Reserve” status. This is a bug that hopefully EA will correct in the future. Also, there were a few Legend players that were on IR status that I then accordingly created a new player for with the appropriate ratings etc. and then added them to the appropriate team. This was done in order to include them in my roster and avoid fooling around with the starting lineup during the game. On a few of the players tagged with IR status, I also changed their name to “Injured Reserve” to avoid confusion (having two players with the same name within the team).
Kickoff and Punt Return designations: Since many of the players that are listed as the leading Kick and Punt returners are not within the Legends rosters due to the above parameters I used (other than “Neon” Deion Sanders, “Windy City Flyer” Devin Hester or “Human Joystick” Dante Hall to name a few), I’ve done my best to set the starting lineup as advantageous as possible given the ratings, the available players within the rosters, and the historical data re: the leading KR and PR leaders. Since the Cornerbacks were rated using high performing Legends such as Deion Sanders as a reference, they serve well to fill any missing slots needed in the starting KR and PR lineups. Of course, you are free to amend anything you like there as well.
Suggestions for EA Sports (I hope EA Sports reads this part!):
I sincerely hope that EA Sports will examine this Go Fund Me site and use my roster as a reference base (for real or as an inspiration) and include a version of it (updated each year as the appropriate Legends are added). They could also easily offer it within the game as an optional and for sale download pack via the Microsoft or Playstation Store. Since they have the face scans, appropriate uniforms, helmets, face masks and everything else they could really put an impressive download pack together! They could even add the original leather helmets for players like the legendary FB Bronko Nagurski of the Chicago Bears along with other missing equipment options (e.g. foam hand and forearm guards, fingerless gloves). They have this data within their Madden Ultimate Team (MUT) data so I know it exists. MUT is great but even if you assemble an all Legends roster for your chosen team you can’t play against an All Legends team roster of another team within. This is a huge void IMHO. Having an All Legends Roster within the game would facilitate online All Legends matches too!!
I know EA Sports values this feature because it was included within NHL 20 this year! Playing as the All Time Legends Edmonton Oilers with Gretzky, Messier, Kurri and the other Legends is the BOMB!
If EA chooses not to include an All Time Legends roster within the game, then my suggestion is for EA to offer a download roster pack for $9.99 with ½ of the proceeds going to the Concussion Legacy Foundation. They could do this each and every year as long as Madden exists and could be updated as Legends are appropriately added to the ranks. The Madden video game wouldn’t flourish nearly as much without these NFL Legends and I think it would be a fitting and responsible dedication to all of those who sacrificed so much to make the NFL what it is today.
Or, if EA Sports won’t include an All Time Legends roster as such, perhaps the NFL will grant another video game developer with the rights to create a NFL game so that they could do it. I can’t imagine passing on this public relations opportunity to pay homage to all of the greats who’ve made the NFL what it is today and in conjunction provide funds to help an EXTREMELY worthy cause!
As the retired player and Legend Randy Moss would say…..”COME ON MAN!!!”
About Me:
I’ve been playing football video games since the days of the regular Atari 2600 gaming system. I’ve been an avid football video gamer throughout all of the following system eras as well: Nintendo (TECMO Bowl ROCKED!), Sega Genesis, Sony Playstation, Original XBOX, Sony PS2, XBOX 360, Sony PS3, Sony PS4 and now the XBOX ONE.
Post the launch of 2K Sports’ NFL2K5, I used a roster editor and the downloadable rosters at nfl2k5roster.com to create current rosters in order to keep the game current.
Post the launch of 2K Sports’ All Pro Football 2K8, I created several “All Legends” teams made up of the players included with the game and also with created players up to the allowed limits. Playing with “All Legends” teams head to head against other teams has been one of the most enjoyable experiences for me when football gaming.
During the glory years of EA Sport’s NCAA Football games, I was a huge fan/player of the game and the Teambuilder option within the game. Each year, I would create 120 teams with accurate roster data (the maximum permitted if you purchased the Max Teambuilder slots) and enjoyed playing as my created teams while watching the download numbers climb re: these same teams. My created teams were highly accepted and downloaded. As an example, for NCAA 14 (the last year of the series), my Appalachian State Mountaineers team was the 3rd most downloaded team at well over 10,000 downloads. Several of my other teams were always within the top 50 downloaded teams each and every year. Sadly, the Teambuilder site was taken down and you can no longer create teams or determine how many times your teams have been downloaded. Oh well, it was great while it lasted. Hopefully someday EA or 2K Sports (hopefully/perhaps) will figure out how to legally create a NCAA Football video game again. There’s a HUGE void in the world of football gaming that desperately needs to be filled!
Because of my experiences and enjoyment re: creating teams during all of these years and as I stated at the beginning, I am thrilled to partner with the CLF and offer this Madden 20 roster to the community with the hopes of benefitting current and former athletes.
So, how does the game play with all these Legends?
To me, it’s like playing with the Madden Elites, Legends or MUT teams within Madden. As a reference, I set my game skill level at the All-Madden difficulty setting. I also set the run assist and fumble tendency to 75% (for me and the CPU) to enhance the ability to run the ball and avoid excessive fumbles. If you don’t cover the ball, you risk fumbling when a defensive Legend hits your player or tackles you. This is no different than real life and would certainly be the case if you were being tackled by the retired player and Legend Ray Lewis and didn’t cover the ball. Good luck holding on to the ball! This seems to work perfectly for my ability given you’re playing against an all Legends roster. Also, if you pass to a receiver that isn’t truly open, you will have the pass batted down or intercepted given the skill level of these players. Of course, you can adjust all the sliders to match your abilities. You can even set the slider to “even teams” if you like. It’s all about what works for you and what is FUN! There was no way for me to set the skill levels of the players to match each and every player’s abilities so that is in your court. However, since the players skill ratings mirror those of last year’s Madden Elites and Legends it’s basically the same experience as that.
Here are some screenshots of the end of game summary board as the players run by to give you an idea of what I’ve experienced (with a short game note underneath – I don’t claim to be the best or worst Madden player – it wouldn’t be official anyways). Thank you and enjoy!!
I managed to squeak out a 1 point win over the Patriots with the Saints in New England. I tried a 2 point conversion twice and was stopped. Fortunately for me the clock ran out at the end of the 4th before the Patriots could kick what would have been the game winning field goal.
I came close to winning at home with the Jets over Patriots. But since this wasn’t horseshoes it didn’t count for much.
Bo Jackson and his TECMO Bowl running game was equaled by my Adrian Peterson effort but I was intercepted 3 times by the ball hawks of the Raiders. It felt like Super Bowl 11 all over again.
In spite of my running game, the Oakland ball hawks intercepted me twice to prevent my win. I see a pattern.
This time my Eddie George running game and turning the tables re: interceptions gave me a win against the tough Raiders!
Between Clinton Portis and John Riggins, the Redskins running game rules even against the mighty Ravens D!
In spite of two fumbles and an INT, I managed to squeak out a win with the Patriots over the only NFL team to win the Super Bowl along with having a perfect season.
An interception in the end zone by FS Bennie Blades and a fumble forced by MLB Joe Schmidt allowed me to squeak out a win of 14 to 11 over the Raiders (they were able to pull off a 2 point conversion). Barry Sanders versus TECMO Bowl Bo Jackson!
Close game (I played as the Panthers) right up to the end where the Bills punched the FG as the clock expired! These losses fester.
In spite of being intercepted twice, I managed another TD courtesy of the legendary FB Jim Brown to win the game!
Here’s a highlight picture from the above game. Since Madden 20 allows for more than 10 characters in the player’s last name, you can now watch the legendary WR Cris Collinsworth in all of his glory scoring a TD as a Bengal! The legendary SS Clarence Scott of the Browns nearly caught him!
In spite of my LT running game, QB Lamar Jackson managed to rocket the Ravens to a win over the Chargers. Fun and close game!
Another nail biter game the ended with the Dolphins punching the FG through as time expired on the Buccaneers! Got to love the Florida rivalry!!
Did I mention that this game with an all Legends rosters is FUN?!
Organizer
Jeffrey Willert
Organizer
Boston, MA
Concussion Legacy Foundation
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
