Madden 20 adding a Nike shoe that makes players faster

EA’s football juggernaut just received a new promotion in time for this Sunday’s Super Bowl. But the real question is what players will think when it comes to its unexpected advantage.

A new shoe has been introduced to the game—Nike’s Vapor Edge Cleat. It will be available for a handful of specific players, including Christian McCaffrey, Odell Beckham Jr., Kyler Murray, Ezekiel Elliott, and Dalvin Cook, all of whom are currently signed on with the brand. They’re available now, but there’s a caveat that players may want to take note of.

When using these shoes, they affect how a player performs in-game. Namely, they provide a +1 boost with either speed or acceleration. You can see EA’s tweet showing them in action below.

While this may sound like good news to players looking for a minor upgrade, Destructoid believes this could create an “awful precedent” within the game. This could come in the form of an endorsement deal with certain brands to provide them a specific advantage over non-branded gear, potentially wading into microtransaction territory to give players boosts.

The Nike Vapor Edge Cleat is part of the latest Madden 20 update, which went live this afternoon. It’s more detailed on the game’s official page, but it includes several mode updates, as well as the introduction of a few new X-Factor Players. It should prompt for download the next time you start up the game.

It’ll be interesting to see what the community thinks about the added incentive with Nike sneakers—and, more importantly, what promotion EA decides to act on next.