Madden NFL 23 Franchise Mode Details Revealed

With the countdown to the release of Madden NFL 23 truly starting to heat up, EA Sports has just revealed everything there is to know with its latest iteration of the series' staple Franchise Mode.

For those who want to wear the hats of coach, general manager and owner for their very own teams once again, here are the latest details about Madden NFL 23 Franchise Mode.

Madden NFL 23 Franchise Mode Details

Headlining Madden NFL 23's revamp is the new feature Free Agency feature, as well as what are said to be major improvements to Player Motivations, Player Tags, Contracts, Scouting and immersion tuning.

As outlined by EA Sports senior game design director Connor Dougan in the developer's "Madden 23 Franchise Deep Dive" trailer, the goals for improving the mode included:

• Enhanced realism
• Upgraded authenticity
• Overall improved experience

Free Agency

The top addition Franchise players should definitely look out for in Madden NFL 23 is the new Free Agency feature.

The Offseason Free Agency Hub is said to have undergone a full visual overhaul to introduce the new Free Agency Hub screen, where details of a player of interest are displayed, including how your team aligns with their Motivations, their interest from other teams and their expected contract range.

Additionally, Active Negotiations and Evaluations are the two other new cores of the Free Agency feature.

To create that sense of pressure during Free Agency, as well as ensure that a few teams can’t just come in and sign all the top free agents right away, there are three Stages where Franchise players can engage in Active Negotiations to offer contracts:

• First stage of Free Agency: each team will only be able to offer up to five players a contract during each Eval Period
• Second stage of Free Agency: each team will only be able to offer up to 10 players a contract during each Eval Period
• Third stage of Free Agency: each team will be able to make an unlimited amount of offers to the remaining free agents

To make matters a bit more flexible, however, Franchise players will also be able to make three Eval Offers within every week of Free Agency.

Eval Offers allow free agents to accept/decline contracts or not make a final decision without the need for the week to be advanced, giving Franchise players more opportunities to go back and forth with their targets, and/or possibly allow them to change direction, each week.

Player Motivations

In previous Maddens, free agents simply signed with the teams offering the most money. Now, every player has three Motivations describing the type of team they want to play for.

All players will begin with a set of three Motivations, but with every year a player continues with a Franchise, they may update to better align with their current situations.

The Player Motivations include:

• Super Bowl Chase: Evaluated throughout the season, the teams in position to contend for the Super Bowl will be the prime destination for these players.
• Historic Championships: A priority toward Franchises with a winning culture that have shown their ability to bring home the Lombardi trophy over time.
• Head Coach Historic Record: Top-tier coaches that have proven their contribution to winning games will better recruit players to come on board.
• Scheme Fit: Players will look to match the team’s offensive or defensive Scheme to best showcase their talent on the field.
• Top the Depth Chart: These players are looking to be starters at their position, plain and simple.
• Team Has Franchise QB: If your QB has the “Franchise QB” Player Tag, they’ll be helping you bring these players into the mix.
• Mentor at Position: Developing players can look to find a player on your team at their position with the “Mentor” Player Tag.
• Close to Home: The distance between your stadium and a player’s Home state can be a big draw.
• Big Market: Big Market players are looking to showcase themselves in the largest cities in the world.
• Tax-Free State: Teams in states with no income tax provide an extra incentive for some.
• Warm Weather State: States that stay warm throughout the winter will be welcoming to these players.
• Highest Offer: Players will think less of how you fit their interests and are simply looking for the biggest deal.

Player Tags

Player Tags add a new layer to how players fit with their team on a weekly basis, bringing unique effects that not only apply to the team but also to teammates and the player themselves.

The Player Tags include:

• Award Winner
• Franchise QB
• Bridge QB
• QB of the Future
• Day 1 Starter
• Future Starter
• Bridge Player
• Mentor
• Trade Target

Contracts

This year's Franchise Mode will feature a revamped Contract Negotiation screen that includes a breakdown of Motivations including a player’s overall Interest in your team, a yearly breakdown of the offer and depth chart information at that position.

Aside from making Custom Contract offers, Franchise players will also be able to give out four different presets of offers: Team Friendly, Neutral, Player Friendly and Very Player Friendly.

The Rollover Cap will also be implemented this year, allowing teams to carry over unused cap money from one year to the next. This gives teams with low total salaries the ability to spend heavily in the upcoming offseason.

Scouting

Over 50 scouts are said to have been added in Madden 23, doubling the number of free agent scouts from 50 to 100 and bringing the total number of scouts to 260. In addition, every position will have at least one scout in each tier with that particular expertise. With a few exceptions, each position grouping is covered by multiple scouts at each tier.

Team scouts have also been updated. Each scout assigned to a team now reflects their team needs, with the higher tier scouts reflecting the bigger needs.

This year, the Focus Scouting groupings for draft classes are:

• RB: Running Backs (Halfbacks and Fullbacks)
• OT: Offensive Tackles (Left Tackles and Right Tackles)
• IOL: Interior Offensive Linemen (Left Guards, Centers and Right Guards)
• DE: Defensive Ends (Left Ends and Right Ends)
• OLB: Outside Linebackers (Left Outside Linebackers and Right Outside Linebackers)
• S: Safeties (Free Safeties and Strong Safeties)

EA has also significantly increased the weight of reveals in favor of core attributes making it far more likely for an attribute reveal to be a core attribute rather than a secondary attribute.

Additionally, when Franchise players reach 50% scouted on a prospect, any remaining unknown attributes will convert from a question mark to a three-letter range. As you continue to gather more information on a player and reach 70% scouted, any remaining three-letter ranges will then convert into a two-letter range.

Draft classes have been completely overhauled in Madden NFL 23, with over 30 new templates said to be added to the mode

The Draft class templates include:

• Generational Prospects: Once in a generation prospects that take the league by storm.
• 99 Club Prospects: Players that will bring an elite skill to the NFL, but won't necessarily be be 99 overall players.
• High Variance Prospects: True boom or bust prospects.
• Specialist Prospects: Players that are a bit outside the box and break the mold of our typical archetype prospects and are either unique to their position or specialize in a certain area.

For more on Madden NFL 23 Franchise Mode in terms of UI updates and immersion tuning, feel free to check out the full Franchise Mode EA Sports dev blog.

Madden NFL 23 is set to release worldwide for PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC (via EA app, Origin, Steam and Epic Games Store) on Aug. 19, 2022. EA Play (via Early Access Trial) and EA Play Pro subscribers, as well as those who pre-order the All Madden Edition, will have early access to the game starting on Aug. 16.

For more on Madden NFL 23, feel free to check out our ratings predictions lists:

• Madden NFL 23 QB Ratings Predictions: 5 Highest Rated
• Madden NFL 23 WR Ratings Predictions: 5 Highest Rated
• Madden NFL 23 RB Ratings Predictions: 5 Highest Rated