There are three constants in life: death, taxes, and Madden football. The latest iteration of the football simulator is back with enhanced graphics, sharpened gameplay, and game modes to keep you entertained for countless hours.
Among the game modes on Madden 23 is the classic Franchise. Take control of your favorite NFL team and build them into a Super Bowl contender. In this guide, we’ll analyze how to start off the right way in your attempt to win the Lombardi trophy.
Updated January 30, 2023, by Avery Feyrer: We've updated this post to the current standards of our guides and have broken up the information in a more concise way for easier reading.
Getting Started
When setting up your franchise, you’ll first need to decide whether you want to play online or offline. Choosing to play online means your franchise will have live NFL rosters, ratings, and statistics that reflect reality. Choosing offline will simply load the 75-man roster that was set at the beginning of the preseason.
Playing online in Franchise does not mean you’ll be facing off against real people around the world.
Unless you have connectivity issues, it’s highly recommended to play online. You can also choose to do a fantasy draft by selecting Active Roster. By opting for a fantasy draft, every NFL player will be selected from a pool, so you could have Patrick Mahomes on the Detroit Lions.
Choose Your Role
Once you've picked the team you want and whether you’ll be online or offline, it’s time to choose your role. For the complete Franchise experience, you’ll want to be the Owner.
As the Owner, you’ll manage all the finances associated with the team, make stadium renovations and upgrades, and be in charge of constructing the player roster and coaching staff.
There are three different backstories that will impact the start of your franchise: Former Player, Lifelong Fan, and Financial Mogul.
You can upgrade your staff by purchasing Talents with Staff Points that will impact a variety of team-building categories, like free agent signing and trading.
If the financial responsibilities of being the Owner are too much, you can stick with simply being the Coach and just play the games, or you can also choose Player. Either create your own player or choose an active one and control this specific player to (hopefully) a Hall of Fame career.
- Choosing to control a player is similar to the Face of the Franchise, but here you’ll be able to select any active player if you don’t want to create one.
Scouting Players
If you've assumed the Owner or Coach role for your Franchise, scouting college prospects is key to maintaining long-term success. First, you’ll need to choose a draft class: Madden Share or auto-generated.
- Madden Share draft classes are created and shared by the community, while auto-generated classes are how the series has always developed future players.
- Auto-generated classes might give you a more balanced experience because community-created classes could favor a specific position over others.
Having a competent scouting department will help filter the good prospects from the bad. Each week, you’ll receive reports on the draft class that will help you prepare for the NFL draft at the end of the season.
From the first week of the regular season, you’ll have the ability to hire scouts and prioritize which region and position they evaluate.
Play The Game
Before each game, you’ll have the opportunity to prepare for your opponent. Once your team is ready to go, there are three different ways to play: Play The Moments, Play Full Game, or play only Offense or Defense.
Practice days can be adjusted to follow a specific strategy that coincides with the opposing team’s offensive and defensive tendencies.
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Play The Moments |
Roughly 20 minutes of game time, this mode simulates much of the "boring" plays in football and only taps you in for crucial plays, like critical third downs, red zone opportunities, or two-minute drills. |
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Play Full Game |
Playing the complete game gives you the most control, but comes at a cost of nearly an hour of game time, depending on the length of each quarter. After each game, you’ll have to answer a media question that will provide various boosts or hindrances to your franchise. |
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Offense or Defense |
You can choose to exclusively play on only one side of the ball, depending on whichever you feel most comfortable on. If you choose offense, then the game will simulate defense and vice versa. |