Congrats to EA for taking a stand and pointing out some of the bad parts of football with its latest selection for the cover of Madden NFL 18. In an obvious nod to Deflategate, EA has chosen to highlight Tom Brady and his four-game suspension for all to see. They even called him the goat of the NFL, with a picture of him screaming after he got caught.

Excuse me. What? Really? Super Bowl comeback over the Falcons? No, that can't be right. It's the Patriots. Okay.

It appears I was mistaken and that EA is taking the angle that Brady is the GOAT–as in "Greatest of All Time"–and not the braying horned creature and label that people are saddled with when they are caught screwing up. Plus, something about five Super Bowl rings and a huge comeback over the Falcons in the Super Bowl earlier this year. He apparently has a few MVP awards and Pro Bowl appearances as well.

“The Madden NFL 18 cover is a great honor for me,” said Brady in a prepared statement. “Especially since I have been playing the game since growing up next to EA headquarters in the Bay Area. I'm not one to believe in curses, so I'm ready to take the challenge head on like always! It doesn't stand a chance!!!”  

EA also announced pre-order details, with two separate editions for the game. Pre-ordering the basic edition will give you the choice of an Elite player from your favorite NFL team for use in Madden NFL 18 Ultimate Team, as well as five Squad Packs, redeemable at launch. Then there is the GOAT Edition, which includes all the basic edition goodies, plus one of five GOAT players of your choice for Madden NFL 18 Ultimate Team.

New game details and playtime will be available at EA Play on June 10. Madden NFL 18, which will be using the Frostbite engine, is slated to come out on August 25 for Xbox One and PS4.