First Madden NFL 26 Update Adds Nike Rivalries And More

Madden NFL 26 has only been out for two weeks, but EA has already prepared the first update for this year’s edition. Most of the changes address bugs or other issues that have come up since the game officially launched on August 14. It’s also introducing Nike Rivalries, a new feature that will bring “community pride” to some of the most famous rivalries in the league.

According to EA, Nike Rivalries is part of a new four-year deal between Nike and the NFL that will “celebrate football’s most storied rivalries” with customized uniforms that represent their respective cities. Each iteration of Nike Rivalries will focus on teams from two different divisions, and this year’s subjects are the AFC East and NFC West.

Players from the NFC West and AFC East show off their custom looks in Nike Rivalries.

EA also announced that the Madden NFL 26 update will introduce a customized playbook that was created in collaboration with retired quarterback Kurt Benkert. The playbook is called Benkert’s Dimes, and it’s available in Play Now when selecting playbooks.

The remaining issues addressed in this update are largely specific to certain plays or situations. Additionally, EA notes that it will address a few other fixes in later updates, including the Class Import Process incorrectly modifying player body types, the inability to take players off of the IR list, and nose tackle archetypes displaying a different OVR in the front end.

The complete list of changes in Madden NFL 26’s first update can be found below:

Gameplay

Cover 2 Tampa – The middle defender now gets deeper, maintaining better leverage position against deep threats, especially vs. 3×1 formations.

Cover 2 Hard Flats – Addressed an issue with Hard Flats where defenders were dropping too deep and too far inside before reacting to flat routes. Defenders now drop more accurately with their zone responsibilities, improving coverage consistency in the shallow flats.

Cover 3 Match: Logic improvements for Defenders when reacting to Slot WRs attempting to outleverage the defense on deep routes. This includes Buzz Mable and Zone Blitz 3 playcalls

Cover 6 & Cover 4 Palms – Fixed an issue where Outside Quarters CBs in Cover 6 and Cover 4 Palms were oftentimes losing the press giving up easy touchdowns. We adjusted the CBs alignment so they will no longer attempt to press the WR.

Zone coverage defenders now drop back quicker when shading coverage ‘overtop’.

Fixed a post play animation defect where a defender would do “read steps” when standing in place after the whistle.

Addressed a visual issue around the previous play graphic obscuring the offensive play call formation.

Franchise

Addressed our UI Transitions surrounding the Player Card. Reducing the transition time it takes to go into the Player Card.

Dev Notes: This current fix only addresses going into the Player Card. Our resolution for exiting out of the player card back to the Franchise Main Menu will be in our next TU.

Resolved an issue allowing commissioners to send multiple league invites simultaneously.

Addressed an issue that prevented Edge Players from adding Pass Rushing Traits

Addressed an issue during the Draft where the Draft Board was improperly transparent, showing through to the background.