EA denies report it will be providing virtual simulated players meeting Roger Goodell at NFL Draft

UPDATE: We have received a statement from EA Sports denying the earlier reports that they’ll be creating simulated player-commissioner meetings at the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft.

“EA denies report it will be providing virtual simulated players meeting Roger Goodell at NFL Draft.”

This report originated from Ian Rapoport, who is one of the more reliable reporters and aggregators in the league, but the denial suggests that we’re not going to see these virtual meetings in less than three weeks. Bummer.

Original story follows.

We are living in super weird times, friends. How weird? We’re talking about EA Sports creating a moment where EA Sports is responsible for coming up with a simulation of a prospect meeting and shaking Roger Goodell’s hand.

That weird.

Again, this draft is going to be bonkers with no live studio audience and no one allowed within six feet of Roger Goodell. Rather than just announcing the name and showing a photo and some play reels for the prospects-turned-picks, the NFL is going to lean into the weirdness by bringing in the folks responsible for

What are these “virtual moments” going to look like? We really can’t even begin to guess how realistic EA is going to be able to make them—though we’ve all played Madden—but it appears they’ll follow a template in terms of how they shake hands with, hug, or come suddenly to life and chase around the stage Goodell.

I really cannot wait to see this.