If you have been on NoobTubeTV for the Madden CFM coverage over the last few years you will see that there has been little mercy on the shortcomings of the Madden Franchise Mode. I have largely talked up the depth of MLB The Show and the Franchise Mode in general. However, after playing through five seasons of Franchise Mode with the Cincinnati Reds it can’t be understated how broken the game becomes on multiple levels.
Building A Dream Team Is Far Too Easy
Like other games, I think you should be able to do whatever you want in your own sports universe. However, for those of us that want a reason to play our franchise with some realism and some challenge, this shouldn’t be able to happen.
I will say this. One thing that definitely happens on top of all of this is big time players sign big time contracts – for the most part. There was one HUGE caveat I noticed and will get to that in a bit. For now, I will show you the reverse Babe Ruth move that happened in one off-season.
Age Regression Is Ridiculous
When I played through my first couple seasons with the Reds I actually kept the team pretty true to what they were when I started. I will have to go back and take a look at certain moves that had been made, but in the end I will say that Joey Votto carried us to the 2018 World Series. He was by far the best player I have used in any season of The Show. The worst part was the very next season his production dropped along with this ratings. I ended up trading him to the Braves and decided to see how he was doing before we started the 2023 season.
To say I was disappointed for him is an understatement. Sure, he is 38 at this point and by no means is he a spring chicken, but he seriously has one job to do. Oh well, not my problem anymore.
Being The GM Is Just Too Easy
One of the things that happens as you play through Franchise Mode is your status as the GM will bounce around in terms of Job Security. The only thing is that once you realize how many teams are willing to make a deal with you for their future stars it is written in the stars for you to create the greatest team of all time.
For instance, I made the trade in 2022 to get Mike Trout on the Reds. His $30 million annual salary was something I thought I could deal with until the next off-season came around and I realized I didn’t have the ability to sign half of the players I needed in order to run the franchise. What ever could I do?!
Well, for one thing – I could trade Trout at 31 years old and 99 OVR for anyone I wanted – as long as the salary involved was comparable. So, this basically meant I had to do a bit of creative trading that would see multiple teams contacted on the same day and many players being a Cincinnati Red for a little under five minutes before they got moved again.
Prospects, Minor League and Renewable Contracts and The Wonders of the Potential Rating
This might be the biggest downfall of Franchise Mode. Trading for those prized coveted prospects on other teams is generally the first move many of us make. The second move we make is to sign them to the cheapest contracts they will accept under the current MLB rules that still manage to function similarly to indentured servitude in terms of sports contracts.
When you get one of those coveted players on your team it is going to be a sweet ride for five to seven seasons before they demand a free agent deal that could break your bank. There should be more safeguards for those of us that want a simulation feel for our franchise mode experience.
Now that the first trailer is here it is only a matter of time before the hype gets even bigger. Here is hoping they actually made some big and much needed changed in MLB 19.
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