Aaron Hernandez’s Appearance In NCAA 14 Will Be Brief, Says EA Sports

As much as I wanted to say Aaron Hernandez, the NFL star facing murder charges, is free and unlocked (heh heh) — in NCAA Football 14 — that ain’t the case. Some folks, however, are seeing his card pop up if they get a gold medal in one of the events of the game’s new Nike Skills Trainer. Here’s what’s really going on, according to EA Sports.

First off, this is a legitimate image, as first spied by Richard Lowe on Twitter, then retweeted by Operation Sports, Everyday Should Be Saturday, and a bunch of other folks. That said, EA Sports told me Hernandez will not be in NCAA Ultimate Team. Anyone who unlocks this reward will see him replaced with Alex Smith, a spokesman told me this morning.

The reason the Hernandez card still shows up is because this message screen is a part of the code that is on the game’s disc — code that was finished well before Hernandez was arrested and charged with murder. To replace that image requires a title update. “Given the requirements of submission, certification and approval we anticipate this will be accomplished in the near future,” an EA Sports spokesman told me.

So, yes, have your laughs if you do get this unlock, but Hernandez won’t be taking the field on your TV screen any sooner than he will in real life. Unless you’re playing Madden NFL 13, of course.