One way that ESPN tried to fill the live sports gap was via an NBA 2K tournament involving a handful of NBA players, which was eventually won by Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns. Now, the Worldwide Leader in Sports is turning to football for its latest video game tournament.
ESPN announced the Madden NFL 20 Celebrity Tournament on Thursday afternoon. It’s set to pit a loaded field of competitors — including NFL players, ESPN personalities, and rappers — against one another, with a bracket being revealed on April 19 at noon on ESPN2 and the tournament beginning the following day on ESPN’s Twitch, Twitter, and YouTube accounts, along with the ESPN App.
Here’s the list of participants, all of whom will go head-to-head in single-elimination games:
- Ravens receiver Marquise Brown
- Former UFC two-division champion Daniel Cormier
- Bills receiver Stefon Diggs
- Falcons running back Devonta Freeman
- Broncos running back Melvin Gordon
- Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins
- Saints defensive end Cam Jordan
- Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce
- Rapper Lil Yachty
- Broncos quarterback Drew Lock
- ESPN personality Pat McAfee
- ESPN personality Katie Nolan
- ESPN personality Omar Raja
- Rapper Snoop Dogg
- Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman
- Rapper YG
It’s quite the field of names, although we’ll have to wait and see what their Madden game is like. The winner of the tournament will be crowned following a game aired on ESPN2 on April 26 at noon EST, with Feeding America receiving a donation in the winner’s name.
