Bill Belichick Won't Be In Madden 19, And That's No Surprise At All

It looks like New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is again not going to show up in the newest Madden video game. Producer Carlos Guerrero, who has since been let go by EA Sports, told GameSpot that a Belichick character model won't be in Madden NFL 19.

Asked if Belichick's likeness will be ever in a Madden game, Guerrero said, "I would hope so; we're still having those conversations."

According to Yahoo! Sports, EA Sports has a licensing deal with the NFL Coaches Association whereby the publisher pays the NFLCA to use the names and likenesses of its coaches, with that money then going back to its members. Belichick is apparently the only head coach in the entire NFL that is not a member of the NFLCA. This may explain why he's not in the game, though there still doesn't appear to be a completely clear and final reason (Belichick is known for being standoffish with media, so we may never get one).

Instead of Belichick's name and likeness, the Madden games refer to him as generic "NE Coach," with his character model being some regular-looking guy who does not wear cut-off sweartshirts in all weather conditions. Given what we know about Belichick's temperament, him not being in a video game is very on brand. But it's still an interesting phenomenon considering every other coach is in the game. It's also a blow to the Madden franchise's ambition to be as authentic as possible.

Belichick not being in the Madden games was even more apparent the past two years with the increased focus on the Patriots. Madden 17 had Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski on the cover and a year later Madden 18 had QB Tom Brady gracing the cover.

Guerrrero was let go earlier this year due to behaviour that ran against EA's policies, including its Global Code of Conduct & Respectful Workplace Policy." GameSpot contacted EA for further clarification, but the company declined to share any more details.

In other Madden 19 news, the game adds former ESPN anchor Jonathan Coachman to the voice cast. Madden 19 launches a little earlier this year, arriving at the start of August. The game is coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, as well as PC for the first time in a decade. For more on Madden 19, check out 35 minutes of the game's Longshot mode here.