EA Sports has announced more details around the Madden NFL 21 Championship Series competitive gaming tournament, but this wasn’t the usual info dump about players, teams, or the league format. Instead, EA specifically announced all of the new and returning sponsors for this year’s event, and they are all over the place.
The Madden NFL Championship Series will have the most sponsors in the league’s history, with almost double the number of ad-buyers compared to last year’s event, EA said in a news release. One of the new sponsors this year is Oakley, which is launching a new gaming glasses line this year called Prizm. These are Oakley’s first glasses–or optical solution, as Oakley calls it–that were designed specifically for gaming.
NFL player Derwin James, who can’t compete on the field this year due to an injury, is participating in a special tournament called Derwin James vs. The World, and he’ll use the new Prizm glasses during his matches. You can watch last week’s event in the video above.
Some of the other sponsors for the MCS include Pizza Hut, Snickers, Gillette, and Campbell’s Chunky canned soup. What this means for you, the viewer, is that you will likely see more ads. Specifically, EA said these sponsors are being being “deeply integrated” into MCS 21.
Th Gillette sponsorship was already hinted at through Madden NFL 21. The game’s new backyard football mode, The Yard, features a character customization menu that is branded the “Gillette Style Zone.”
As for the soup deal, well, EA isn’t saying too much yet. “Campbell’s Chunky will bring competitive match ups to the forefront and connect with the community further in a new tournament later in the season,” EA said. I, for one, and interested to see how you connect soup with football, but only time will tell.
The Madden Championship Series is open to anyone, and you can register now until September 28. Just for signing up you get an Elite Fantasy Pack for Madden Ultimate Team.
Madden NFL 21 has proven to be a big sales success so far, becoming the No. 1 overall best-selling game in the US for August 2020. In fact, this was the 21st year in a row that a Madden NFL game has been the best-seller in its release month.
Madden NFL 21 is coming to the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S, and people can get a free upgrade to the next-gen edition via EA’s Dual Entitlement program.
This year’s Madden had some issues at launch, and the newest title update addresses some of these, including the kick meter problems.
GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.
