Madden 25's Tom Brady legend card is excellent August surprise
By Brian Allen
Leave it to the GOAT to shake up the Madden Ultimate Team landscape at launch. Madden 25 has released a Tom Brady 86 overall Legend Card, and it's good to see him this early. Brady boasts 86 Throw Power, 86 Short Accuracy, and 81 Deep Accuracy.
He can equip Gunslinger, which has been changed from a regular ability to an X-Factor this year. Gunslinger grants increased pass animation speed. You activate it by completing five passes of more than five yards through the air, but it deactivates after a single incompletion. This seems like a pretty hard nerf to an ability widely used in MUT.
Mobile QBs are changing the game, so it's a challenge for Madden to create pocket passers that are worth playing. Right now Josh Allen is the choice for expensive teams, with Anthony Richardson holding down the scrambler spot for the budget squads.
It's worth noting that this Brady card has 70 speed, so he's not a complete statue. He'll get some sneaky sprints for first downs because nobody's putting a QB contain on him. The actual Tom Brady was good for a surprising run on occasion, and this card's speed reflects that.
As I mentioned, it's not easy for MUT designers to make the traditional pocket passers relevant. Just as in real football, RPOs and athletic quarterbacks are dominating. Also, Madden is in the business of creating new cards to sell us. In a few months, we'll get game breaking things like Bo Jackson or William Perry QB cards. For anybody who doesn't play MUT, I'm not exaggerating. Those were real cards last year.
Anything that can be done to give players more choices should be. Madden's defense at launch leaves quite a bit to be desired, so some players may choose an incredibly accurate passer over Triple Option hijinks.