EA Sports Announces Tony Romo Receives First Ever “0” Clutch Rating in Madden 25

Videogame Company, “Electronic Arts” confirmed today that Tony Romo has become the first player in Madden history to get a 0 rating in clutch factor.  An added feature in the 2012-13 version of Madden, the clutch factor was primarily designed to mimic the realistic end-of-game advantages that the leagues’ top players possess towards the end of close games.  In this case, the feature will mimic the quarterbacks’ unprecedented ability to turn the ball over in key situations.

“It’s a rather remarkable feature,” said Andrew Wilson, EVP of EA Sports. “We felt as a company that preaches accuracy, we had to find a way to give fans a true experience of what it is like to control Tony Romo at the end of close games.”

The game has made news with its ratings before.  In  Madden 2008, Devin Hester was the first player to receive a 100 rating for speed.   After the Bears' one-dimensional star returned six kicks for touchdowns, the creators of the game knew they had to find a way to showcase his ability.  With the addition of the new clutch feature, they feel they have finally found a way to do that for Tony Romo.

“It’s just so difficult to do, because there is really no precedent for a player like this,” said Madden producer Donny Moore.  “I mean, the guy can throw with arm strength and accuracy as good as anyone in the league.  But how do we justify giving him the same rating as a Tom Brady and a Peyton Manning?  Well, now we have finally found a way.”

From a technical standpoint, the clutch factor does not have any effect until there are two minutes remaining in the game and it is within one score.  Developers said that Romo’s 93 rating drops to a 17. His accuracy goes from a 90 to an 11 and his field awareness drops from an 88 to a 6.  They added that just to make sure there are no slipups in the game, every defender that Romo is facing has his rating changed to a 99 for the remainder of the game.

“We just didn’t want someone to get the wrong idea,” said an EA representative.  “We know how many people play this game, and we don’t want to be responsible for someone’s television blowing up in confusion if Tony Romo leads a game winning drive.  We feel that our software has successfully removed any outliers.”

As for Romo, he shrugged off the notion of his continued knack for disaster in the clutch.  He said that he has no control over what the company decides to do and can only use it as motivation.

“I can’t let some silly videogame distract me from what this team is trying to accomplish,” said a jovial Romo, sporting his trademark boyish smile and holding a Gameboy Color in his left hand.  “Maybe instead of blaming me for everything, you can go ask a defender on this team to try and name the Broncos’ punter.”

The Cowboys front office said they still have confidence in Romo to lead this team, despite him not being able to ever again win in Madden 25.  They mentioned that they would talk to league officials to see if they can have all of the clocks changed to show more time remaining in the fourth quarter in an attempt to trick Romo in thinking the game is not on the line.