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It is officially NHL23 release week!

The 2023 instalment of EA’s annual NHL series is set to launch globally on October 14, 2022, and, for the first time, includes female hockey players. Specifically, IIHF Women’s National Team members are included in the game for the first time in EA’s 30+ year production of its NHL video game series. Although the inclusion of female players is a positive step for EA towards gender equality and diversity, their inclusion in NHL23 is not without controversy. Three major complaints have been discussed at large by the gaming community: (1) EA’s choice for NHL23’s cover athletes (and their attire), (2) the limitation on use of female players, and (3) comparative ratings between male and female players. First, the Twitter community has made numerous comments that cover athletes Trevor Zegras and Sarah Nurse are not the correct choices for the face of EA’s NHL series. Specifically, displeased fans note that neither Zegras nor Nurse were among the “top” or “most popular” choices, while others complain that the cover athletes sporting “street gear” in front of palm trees and clear skies is a poor reflection of the NHL. Second, and more concerningly, the inclusion of female players appears initially limited, as they will seemingly only be available in one game mode: Hockey Ultimate Team (“HUT”). Although it remains to be seen whether female players will be available in additional modes, initial reviews indicate that only male players will be available for use in common game modes such as “Franchise” and “Be a Pro”. Lastly, given that both male and female players will be available for use in HUT (and both will be available for use on the same team), there is debate about whether the top female players should have unscaled ratings that rival the top male NHL players. For example, the top female player in the game is Marie-Philip Poulin, who is a 94 overall. Comparatively, the top male player in the game is Connor McDavid, who is a 95 overall. Thus, public discourse has asked whether the top NHL players should have a competitive ratings edge over their female counterparts. In conclusion, although the decision to include female players in NHL23 is a positive and correct move for the EA franchise, it will be interesting to see whether any adjustments are made to female players (from a ratings and game mode perspective) and how NHL23 sales measure up against its predecessors.

Sources:

1. Cover Athlete Complaints: https://firstsportz.com/nhl-news-twitter-continues-bickering-over-canadian-forward-trevor-zegras-and-olympian-sarah-nurse-on-cover-for-ea-sports-nhl-23/
2. Female Player Game Modes: https://news.ea.com/press-releases/press-releases-details/2022/EA-SPORTS-NHL-23-Brings-Players-Together-With-Most-Socially-Connected-Chel-Experience-Ever-and-Adds-Womens-Players-to-Ultimate-Team-Coming-October-14/default.aspx
3. Ratings Controversy: https://www.reddit.com/r/EA_NHL/comments/x8dk7e/sarah_nurse_nhl_23_rating_reveal_90_ovr/

Our discussion last class about the Vancouver Canucks’ leadership banning video games while on the road in 2018 reminded me of a similar development: Kyler Murray’s new NFL contract with the Arizona Cardinals. Murray’s contract, which pays him $230,500,000 over the next five years, contained an unprecedented “independent study” addendum. Specifically, the independent study addendum stated that Murray “shall complete at least four hours of Independent Study each week during each playing season during the term of the contract.” “Independent Study” was later defined as time that Murray spent studying “the material provided to him by the [Cardinals] in order to prepare for the [Cardinals’] next upcoming game”. Most interestingly, the addendum stated that Murray “shall not receive any credit for Independent study with respect to any time periods during which . . . [Murray] is engaged in any other activity that may distract his attention (for example, watching television, playing video games or browsing the internet)”.

Part of the reason that the independent study addendum (and, relatedly, the quasi-prohibition on playing video games) stirred up so much controversy is that Murray is an avid Call of Duty (“COD”) gamer. After the addendum was leaked to the media, a few different statistical analyses revealed two concerning trends: (1) Murray played worse during COD Double Experience Points (“2XP”) weekends and (2) Murray’s statistical output decreases (and continue on a downward trend) every season once the new annual COD edition is released. During 2XP weekends, for example, Murray’s passer rating, passing yards per game, completion percentage, and winning percentage all noticeably decrease. Further, an analysis of Murray’s fantasy football statistics is also concerning (fantasy football statistics provide a metric to assess Murray’s statistical output from a purely individual perspective). Before the annual COD release date, Murray averages 22.5 fantasy points per game. In games played after the annual COD release, however, Murray only averages 17.4 fantasy points per game—a 22.7% decline. Although potentially unrelated, the data over Murray’s three-year career appears to tell an interesting story: on 2XP weekends and following a new COD release, Murray is more worried about his K-D ratio than his upcoming NFL opponent. Thus, it appears that when given an opportunity to play the game he loves, Murray is choosing COD over football.

After much public scrutiny, the addendum was unsurprisingly removed from Murray’s contract less than two weeks after the contract was initially signed. Including the addendum was questionable from the outset for three primary reasons. First, why would a professional NFL franchise invest over $230 million in a player whom they believed was not dedicated enough to study his opponent before each game? Second, why would Murray’s agent (Erik Burkardt) allow an addendum that questions his client’s work ethic be included in the contract? Lastly, who leaked the addendum to the media? Such details are not commonly available to the general public, and public discourse seemingly believes it was the Cardinals who leaked the addendum to “motivate” (embarrass?) Murray to be a better student of the game for the 2022 season. Four games into his colossal new contract, Murray’s individual performance has been strong, but he has led the Cardinals to a mediocre 2–2 start to the 2022 season. With the new COD (Modern Warfare 2) set to release on October 28, 2022 (a mere two days before Murray’s Cardinals play the Vikings in Minnesota), it will be interesting to see if Murray and the Cardinals regress over the second half of the 2022 NFL season.

Sources:

1. General Story Details: https://www.insider.com/kyler-murray-contract-homework-clause-removed-cardinals-2022-7
2. Vancouver Canucks Video Game Ban: https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/canucks-players-put-in-video-game-ban-on-the-road
3. Independent Study Addendum: https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1551661427949174784/photo/1
4. Call of Duty Statistics (2XP Weekends): https://ftw.usatoday.com/lists/cardinals-kyler-murray-call-of-duty-stats
5. Call of Duty Statistics (New Release): https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/07/26/kyler-murray-cardinals-homework/
6. Addendum Removed: https://www.nfl.com/news/cardinals-remove-independent-study-clause-from-kyler-murray-s-contract