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Some CFL players and legends are now featured in EA's Madden NFL Mobile

Andrew Bucholtz
Some CFL players and legends are now featured in EA's Madden NFL Mobile

The CFL has managed to get some content into the mobile version of Electronic Arts' huge Madden NFL franchise. EA tweeted Monday morning that new CFL live events will enable players to collect current CFL players, and then trade them in for five CFL legends:

Here's a look at some of the current players available:

The Madden NFL Mobile game, available for iOS and Android devices, works like many collectable card games. It allows users to collect different players with different stats and then use them in games against other users. The CFL content is only a small part of the overall game, but it will be featured extensively during live events. The first one takes place Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern, and a letter the league posted Monday mentions that "now, CFL is going to be a regular part of that programming mix." So, there will be more of these CFL-focused events in days to come, with a league source indicating they'll be timed to coincide with major events on the CFL calendar. There's a good roster of current players and legends available, too; here it is, from a league source:

Madden NFL Mobile CFL Collectible Cards

BC Lions

Edmonton Eskimos

Calgary Stampeders

Jonathon Jennings

Mike Reilly

Bo Levi Mitchell

Chris Rainey

Odell Willis

Jerome Messam

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Darian Durant

Andrew Harris

Zach Collaros

Rob Bagg

Jamaal Westerman

Luke Tasker

Toronto Argonauts

Ottawa REDBLACKS

Montreal Alouettes

Diontae Spencer

Greg Ellingson

Duron Carter

Drew Willy

Trevor Harris

Tyrell Sutton

Madden NFL Mobile CFL Legend Sets

Doug Flutie – Calgary Stampeders

Jeff Garcia – Calgary Stampeders

Warren Moon – Edmonton Eskimos

Joe Theismann – Toronto Argonauts

Mike Vanderjagt – Toronto Argonauts

This isn't the full-fledged CFL video game many have been pining for for years, but it's certainly a step in the right direction for the league to get some CFL content not only added to one version of the incredibly popular Madden franchise, but featured during recurring events. Madden has a global fan base, and putting some CFL players in there could help get the league on the radar for some new fans; it's also a nice reward for existing CFL fans who enjoy gaming. CFL senior vice-president (content and marketing) Christina Litz writes in that letter that much more is in the works, too:

This is not “the CFL video game”. What this is is an innovative marketing initiative to get our brand and players in front of the millions of Madden NFL Mobile players around the world. We want to thank the CFLPA and our amazing alumni for partnering with us on this. We are all thinking of, and are invested with marketing our League together, to make sure we grow and engage new fans with Canadian football – the game and League we all love so much.

We know what you’re thinking… does this mean there’s a CFL video game coming soon? The short answer is yes – we are working actively to launch a number of social mobile CFL-branded games for 2017. Mobile gaming is becoming more and more popular every day. It’s estimated that 30% of video games are played on mobile devices. We agree with you: we need to be in the mobile gaming space and we believe that we can build quality experiences and support and evolve these games in a way that our current fans deserve and prospective fans expect.

As for a console game? The answer to that is more complicated. We 100% want a CFL console game as much as you do. We are fully aware how much you want it and how important a console video game is to get that next generation of fan engaged with our League. But the video gaming industry is a complicated one. We need a strong partner to come to the table to help us – particularly when it comes to marketing and promoting a console game. It is the only way the economics make sense, the only way you can be truly successful at the level CFL fans deserve, and again, what that future fan expects. At this point, we haven’t yet made a partnership or proposal that we believe can be successful – and we believe strongly that we owe it to our fans as well as our players to get this right.

We are going to get there. We have been able to do a whole bunch of things this year that will grow our League: we’ve launched new mobile-optimized websites, we’ve rebuilt our stats system from scratch, we are making big inroads on fantasy, and we’ve launched a new dynamic CFL app.

Today’s announcement is an exciting part of that growth strategy, and we’re always working on more.

So, it looks like CFL-focused games are certainly in the works for the mobile space, and while a console one remains a tougher task (for a variety of good reasons, as discussed here years ago), the league's looking into that as well. It's smart for the CFL to explore the gaming space, as that's a key area for many of the younger fans they want to attract, and it's smart for them to do so in different ways; content in Madden NFL Mobile will appeal to some, the CFL-focused mobile games planned for next year will appeal to others, and if a league-approved console game ever does get made, that will certainly have an audience too. This is only one small step into the world of gaming, but it's a good one given the Madden brand and its global popularity, and it's promising to hear that there appears to be much more to come.