NBC Sports and Peacock will partner with the NFL, EA Sports, and Genius Sports to present a never-before-produced “EA Sports Madden NFL Cast” of the Houston Texans-Kansas City Chiefs game on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 1 p.m. ET. It will be exclusively streamed on Peacock.
‘EA Sports Madden NFL Cast’ Broadcasters To Take Center Stage on Saturday
Paul Burmeister will handle the play-by-play with Madden NFL expert Kurt Benkert and six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Chad Johnson providing commentary. Johnson will serve as a real-time player “ratings adjuster.” Henry Leverette, who won the Ultimate Madden Bowl championship ring in February, will also be part of the broadcast.
Burmeister is a veteran sportscaster with NBC Sports and NBC Olympics, working primarily as a play-by-play voice and studio host across a wide range of platforms. Before he arrived at NBC in 2014, he spent a decade at NFL Network as a studio host.
Burmeister is also the radio voice of Notre Dame football, having called all home and away games since 2018 alongside former Irish All-American Ryan Harris.
At NBC he has worked four Olympic Games, calling water polo at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo and ski jumping at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang and Beijing.
Every summer Burmeister anchors NBC’s coverage of the Tour de France, hosting each one since 2016.
Benkert was a former college quarterback at East Carolina and Virginia. He went undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft and signed a free agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons. He was a journeyman in the NFL and also played for the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL.
Johnson, a former receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, who also went by the name of Chad Ochocinco during his playing days, was a prolific pass catcher in the NFL. He is the official ratings adjuster for EA Sports.
As a special bonus, Johnson will have the ability to adjust a player’s rating depending on what happens during the contest.
Browns WR Jerry Jeudy said he doesn’t believe the report that Jets owner Woody Johnson vetoed a trade because his Madden rating (81) was too low. pic.twitter.com/qH3S2c7L60
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) December 19, 2024
As a prelude to the game, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson was in the news on Friday as it was reported that he nixed a trade with the Denver Broncos for wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, who is instead having an outstanding season with the Cleveland Browns. Supposedly, Johnson nixed the trade because Jeudy’s Madden rating was not high enough.
Jeudy doesn’t buy the story. He thinks it is a lot of hot air.
“To be honest, I don’t believe that. I think that’s fake news, for real,” Jeudy said, referencing the supposed Madden-thwarted trade. “Why would somebody look at Madden ratings? Be real. I don’t think that’s real, but it’s funny.”
