Owner-level decision-making—ticket prices, stadium renovations and the like—was absent in Madden NFL 13 as it introduced the new "Connected Careers" package, which allowed players controlling an entire team as a coach, or those playing as an individual superstar, to participate in the same league. Team owner becomes the third career role one can assume—either through creating yourself or inhabiting the persona of one of the league's real-world bosses. Though not all 32 are yet confirmed to appear, Young expressed confidence that every franchise's honcho will be signed up by the time the game ships, including such names as New England's Robert Kraft, Atlanta's Arthur Blank, or Dallas' notorious Jerry Jones.
"You'll see them in the game in 3D animations," Young said, in camera shots of the executive suite during the action. "If you win the Super Bowl, you'll be up there on the podium, getting handed the Lombardi Trophy."