EA Sports FC 26 Ratings with Nicole Baxter

Summary

Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard

Episode: EA Sports FC 26 Ratings with Nicole Baxter (October 28, 2025)

Guests: Nicole Baxter (Assistant Producer, EA Sports)
Main Theme:
This episode delves into the behind-the-scenes process of EA Sports FC 26 ratings, especially as it relates to both the men's and women's game. Landon Donovan and Tim Howard are joined by Nicole Baxter, a former pro and now an assistant producer at EA Sports, to discuss how video game ratings are decided, their impact on the real soccer world, and how the women's game is being elevated within the franchise.

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Episode Overview

Donovan and Howard use their trademark humor and transparency to unpack the complexities behind EA Sports’ football ratings—a topic that stirs intense debate among fans and players alike. Nicole Baxter provides insider perspective on how Ultimate Team live content works, what goes into creating player ratings, and how the growth of women’s soccer is being consciously fostered within EA Sports' offerings. Throughout, the trio dive into the influence of video games on soccer culture while sharing candid personal stories and industry anecdotes.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Nicole Baxter’s Journey from the Pitch to EA (02:14–03:45)

• Baxter shares her transition from playing in the NWSL and Sweden to landing a role at EA Sports. Her humorous recount of applying for a VP-level job right out of professional soccer sets the tone for a candid, behind-the-curtain conversation.

  "The salary was like 300k. I was coming off of like a 30k salary in the NWSL. I was like, I like that one." (Nicole Baxter, 03:28)

2. The Role of Ultimate Team & Live Content (04:27–06:01)

• Baxter explains Ultimate Team, her role in player selection and item creation for campaigns, and the integration of live football performance into virtual upgrades.
• Details on how licensing and data teams support this process, with real-world performance and emerging stars (across both men's and women’s games) reflected in-game.
• Example: Highlighting the women’s Euros through special in-game campaigns.

3. Impact of Video Games on Soccer Fandom, Especially for Women’s Game (06:21–08:50)

• Baxter describes her mission: “Put the women in the video game and create that fandom for them.” She notes the transformative impact of being featured in EA Sports, as social followings and visibility rise.

  "You're seeing that they're gaining these social followings. It's been really cool to watch that." (Nicole Baxter, 07:19)

• Howard and Donovan share anecdotes of American players and athletes in other sports discovering soccer via FIFA/EA, underlining the powerful cultural bridge video games provide.

  "The only educational medium he had was a video game. And that's for like millions of people." (Tim Howard, 08:19)

4. Real-World Influence of In-Game Ratings and Campaigns (08:50–10:26)

• Baxter narrates the “Frida Rolfo phenomenon”—from initially lukewarm interest to a surge of fans tracking her recovery and performances, illustrating in-game ratings’ real-life impact on player exposure.

  "Suddenly she was posting with her new player item. All these new fans were commenting on her stuff." (Nicole Baxter, 10:17)

5. On Being ‘In the Game’—The Importance of Ratings (10:26–12:53)

• Donovan and Howard reflect on how being encoded into EA Sports is a badge of honor.

  "The minute I was on the COVID of Fee at that time, FIFA, my friends would text me and be like, dude, you're actually a real player." (Landon Donovan, 10:40)

• Discussion about the internal logic of selecting cover athletes and how it’s become more narrative-driven over the years (11:41–12:53).

6. How Player Ratings Are Determined (16:47–18:22)

• Baxter offers transparency on the process:
  • Specialist DCNL producers, dedicated to specific leagues
  • Use of comprehensive statistics, match scouting, and subjectivity
  • Ratings reflect both visible ‘OVR’ stats and intricate sub-attributes (playstyles, roles, etc.)

  "It's actually like a lot... more intricate than you would think when you just like, look at a player and see their OVR rating." (Nicole Baxter, 18:08)

7. Equality of Coverage Across Leagues (18:44–20:04)

• Despite the perception that only elite leagues get attention, every league, even lower tiers, receives dedicated producers and scouting.

8. The Role of Subjectivity, Player Feedback, and Internal Culture (21:16–22:28)

• Stories about players and coaches contacting EA (or Nicole personally) to complain or ask about ratings.

  "I've had NWSL players, NWSL coaches text me and be like, what is going on here? And sometimes I agree with them." (Nicole Baxter, 22:28)

• Sometimes, EA reacts to playful or public athlete requests (e.g., Yamal lobbying for a specific playstyle and EA granting it as a nod to social engagement).

9. Player Scanning & Animation Process (26:04–28:58)

• The practical challenges of capturing player likenesses and movements for all in-game athletes.
• Limited “star heads” at launch, more get added over time.
• Entertaining discussion about what features players would want changed (Donovan lobbying for a full head of hair, with Nicole volunteering to champion the cause).

10. Most Popular Teams in EA Sports FC (29:01–30:15)

• Unsurprisingly, teams like Barcelona (women’s especially), Real Madrid, and top Premier League clubs dominate picks.
• Discusses strategies and goals to grow engagement around less-headline women’s clubs, like Paris FC.

11. Messi and the Inter Miami Effect (30:03–30:35)

• Notable increase in usage of Inter Miami thanks to Messi’s arrival, illustrating the commercial and grassroots ripple effect of player moves.

12. The Broader Cultural & Developmental Impact (30:35–31:57)

• Donovan and Howard credit video games for not just fostering fandom, but igniting a deeper understanding of tactics and global players—even for their own kids.

  "I learned so much, not only about players, but just about how to play and how to move and how to run by playing the game, by actually playing the video game." (Landon Donovan, 30:48)

• Baxter commended for her role in driving exponential growth in the women’s game through digital representation.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On applying for a VP job fresh out of NWSL:

  "The salary was like 300k. I was coming off of like a 30k salary in the NWSL. I was like, I like that one."
  (Nicole Baxter, 03:28)

• On the transformative power of inclusion in the game:

  "My friends would text me and be like, dude, you're actually a real player. And I'm like, what are you talking about?"
  (Landon Donovan, 10:40)

• On player social impact from Ultimate Team campaigns:

  "Suddenly she was posting with her new player item. All these new fans were commenting on her stuff. Like, it's incredible what this video game can do for women's soccer."
  (Nicole Baxter, 10:17)

• On how the system for ratings works:

  "...these people probably know better than I do, but there's always... some aspect of, like, subjectivity. But when it comes down to it, the ratings are so intricate..."
  (Nicole Baxter, 17:26)

• Donovan jokes about being incentivized to defend better for a higher rating:

  "If I had known that while I was playing and like my defending was a 65, I would have defended harder. I swear on my life."
  (Landon Donovan, 23:58)

• On the rise of Inter Miami thanks to Messi:

  "Have you all seen a rise with Inter Miami because of Messi?"
  (Tim Howard, 30:03)
  "Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah."
  (Nicole Baxter, 30:11)

• Donovan’s closing tribute to Nicole’s work:

  "I can't stress this enough because... you are growing the sport, particularly on the women's side, exponentially."
  (Landon Donovan, 30:41)

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Notable Timestamps

• [02:14–03:45] — Nicole Baxter’s background and transition to EA Sports
• [04:27–06:01] — Explanation of Ultimate Team, player selections, and live campaigns
• [07:19] — Nicole on building women's sports fandom via video games
• [08:50–10:26] — Frida Rolfo Ultimate Team campaign story
• [16:47–18:22] — How ratings are researched and determined
• [21:16–22:28] — Player/agent feedback and how EA occasionally responds
• [26:04–29:01] — Player scanning and animation process, with a humorous bit about Donovan getting hair in the next game
• [29:01–30:15] — Popular teams and efforts to promote smaller women's clubs
• [30:03–30:35] — Messi’s impact on Inter Miami popularity

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Episode Tone & Style

The conversation is lively, playful, and self-deprecating—Donovan and Howard blend honest curiosity with banter, Nicole is approachable yet authoritative, breaking down corporate process with intimate, player-first perspective.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode shines a spotlight on how EA Sports FC and its team of experts are shaping not just a video game, but the landscape of soccer fandom and visibility—particularly for the women’s game. With real-world stories, transparent answers, and plenty of humor, listeners come away with a new appreciation for the painstaking work (and unexpected influence) behind the world's best-selling soccer franchise.

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For more episodes and content, subscribe and follow Unfiltered Soccer (@UnfilteredSoccr on X, @UnfilteredSoccer elsewhere).

Transcript

[Landon Donovan]

So would they go back in now or have they gone back in and, like, filled in my head with hair?

[Tim Howard]

That's a great question.

[Nicole Baxter]

That is a great question.

[Tim Howard]

Nicole, we need hair.

[Landon Donovan]

Nicole, can you push this for 26? Just a full head of hair?

[Nicole Baxter]

I would be honored to drive that. That is something that I can handle. Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim, presented by Volkswagen. Volkswagen has long been a supporter of soccer in America and has been proudly been a partner of U.S. soccer for over five years. All right, guys, welcome in to another edition of Unfiltered Soccer. Landon and Tim, as always, please follow the show on social media. Unfiltered Soccer. Subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify you can watch on YouTube. If you like what we're doing, please leave a rating. It helps in a review. It helps people find us. And then you can always email Jordan feedback at Unfiltered Soccer. All right, Timmy, Great, great guest. Super pumped.

[Tim Howard]

I got a lot of.

[Landon Donovan]

Am I excited? Because I've played video games and I've played EA video games my whole life, but my kids are stoked. They're going to want to listen to this. We have an assistant producer from EA Sports, Nicole Baxter, and we're going to let Nicole tell her story. But, Nicole, before we get into your backstory, how you ended up at EA, my first question for you is in 2001, I'm sure you were not at EA then. I went up to Vancouver, put on the suit, the motion sensors, all the things. I spent all day there. They put me on the COVID I was so stoked. I played the game for the first time and thought my rating was going to be like a 97 and it was 83.

[Tim Howard]

That's. That's high. 83.

[Nicole Baxter]

That's the thing that people don't understand is that's a good rating. That's not a good rating.

[Landon Donovan]

An 83B minus. So my first question for you, Nicole, is, can you find the person who decided on the 83? I'd like to have a conversation and we will get into how that happens. But first, give us a little feedback or a little intro on you how you ended up there from a playing career and then ended up working for EA Sports.

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah, so I was playing in the nwcel. I played in Sweden for a little bit. So I played up until early 2023. And then when I was deciding on whether to retire, I was just looking at jobs online and trying to figure out a way that I could stay in women's Sports, full disclosure. Without working for, like, a women's sports company, per se. Like, I wanted to go from playing in the nwsl, which kind of felt like a startup environment, to, like, working for some sort of big corporation. So I started applying for jobs online and we had just done our body scans for EA Sports. So I, like, EA was at the top of my mind, so started applying for jobs online and I came across a vice president position for, like, Madden. And I was like, heck yeah. Clicked apply, and within like, three minutes, I got an email from an EA recruiter that was like, you obviously can't have the job that you applied for, but let's try to find something that you can do here. And he, like, really went out of his way to reach out to a bunch of different, like, game titles at ea. And they happen to have an unposted job opening for, like, a women's soccer expert on the Live content team, which is in charge of Ultimate Team.

[Tim Howard]

Very, very ambitious.

[Landon Donovan]

I love it.

[Nicole Baxter]

Very ambitious. And it was like, so classic. Like, I have. I don't know what my skill set is, so let's just apply for anything. The salary was like 300k. I was coming off of like a 30k salary in the NWSL. I was like, I like, I like that one.

[Landon Donovan]

That's awesome.

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah. So that's why I ended up there. Yeah, it worked out.

[Tim Howard]

And so, and so, like, I will. I will admit I've also been up to Vancouver and worn the suit and done all this stuff, which is amazing. And we talked offline. I'll take a trip to Vancouver any day. And I just remember thinking, I'm so terrible at this video game. Like, literally, like, so, so like, even now when. And I do a bunch for. And I know Lana does a bunch for EA when the game comes out. You know, whether that be like, watch parties, launch parties, different things, and it's great. But like, every time they're like, hey, Tim, we have another celeb in the room. Can we get some content? Are you guys playing? And I'm like, sure. And I'm looking at the buttons and I'm going like, kick. Yeah. I just talk myself through the game. It's terrible.

[Landon Donovan]

When you're an assistant producer on the live content team, can you help us understand what that is? And then you help with player selection and the creation and the ultimate team. And for the, for people who aren't super aware of that. I know my kids are all over that, but what do those both mean?

[Nicole Baxter]

So do you guys play Ultimate Team at All or I would assume you're maybe a little familiar with. Yeah. And you're also. I think you're both in the game, obviously, but I'm sure you've done some, like, photo shoots for different campaigns that we do. So basically, in Ultimate Team, it's like a live game mode where we release new players throughout the week and they get more and more powerful and they're more and more exciting. So maybe I keep using Messi, but Messi starts with an 84. But then say we do a campaign that's themed around really great international players, and we suddenly give Messi a better rating with a new action shot and a different color shell. And it's like this interactive game mode. So that is mostly what I do, is work in that game mode and I select the players that we're going to use for those different campaigns and then I create the players, like using our tooling system. And I work pretty closely with the data collection and licensing team because a lot of our campaigns are based around, like, authentic football. Like, for example, we did last year a campaign to highlight the women's Euros. And so you sometimes rely on the DCL team to give you a list of players that are participating in the Euros, players that are expected to perform really well in the Euros and stuff like that.

[Landon Donovan]

And from your experience. So you played at Gotham. You said you played in Denmark. Sweden.

[Tim Howard]

Sweden.

[Nicole Baxter]

Sweden for a hot second. Yep.

[Landon Donovan]

So are you actively pushing the women's game? Are you always in people's ears saying, you know, can we do more? Can we put right? Because it's been great.

[Nicole Baxter]

My own voice.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, it's been. It's been great to see that evolution and it's a long time coming. So my assumption is you're in your boss's ears all the time trying.

[Nicole Baxter]

Oh, constantly trying to. I mean, it's why I took the job. Like, I grew up casually playing. I was called FIFA at the time, but I played it casually. And, like, I would play with the Chelsea men's team and I would play with Didier Drogba. And he was my favorite player for, like, 10 years, and I had never seen him play in person. Like, I still to this day don't even know if I ever watched a Chelsea game at that age when he was still playing. So, like, I understood the power of the video game. And that is why I wanted this job, was because I saw an opportunity to put the women in the video game and create that fandom for them. And it's been amazing. This is my third year doing it. I think this is the third game title that they're now in for Ultimate Team. And by now we have the women's players across all of the game modes. You're seeing that they're gaining these social followings. It's been really cool to watch that as like someone who's working on it, but then just see how people are reacting to it like throughout the public.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, I mean, it's a fascinating phenomenon because you touched on it and it was gonna be my next point when I played in Europe, Landon's played in Europe. And we've always had to answer the question of like, how do Americans learn the game? Cause it's not our game. We didn't grow up with soccer. And I would often tell them like, yo, the American fan is different. We learn soccer very differently. And I point to your example with DDA DrugBull. But Landon and I have friends in a lot of other sports. My friends that were going back to the 2000s that were in the NFL and played in the NBA, they're like, yo, I gotta go to Barcelona to see Messi. And I'm like, why? He's like, yo, I play FIFA EA every time on the road. And I'm like, this is a guy who's never kicked a soccer ball, knows nothing about soccer. The only educational medium he had was a video game. And that's for like millions of people. And so I think for the women's game that's exciting because it's like people will learn more about the women's game through a video game, which isn't a bad thing. Cause half of our country learned about it, you know. And so do you still get that sense as you're more immersed in ea, as you're obviously full time job that you do, you see how impactful it can be in the soccer landscape?

[Nicole Baxter]

Oh my God. Yeah. I mean, people are suddenly watching women's European football like they're tracking NWSL players. The perfect example. Actually. We did this campaign in Ultimate Team. It was like a fantasy campaign where we basically we pick a bunch of players and they get upgraded based on their performance in real life. And we had this player item for Frida Rolfo who was at the time playing at Barcelona. And when we first released the item, a big thing in ultimate is kind of like their links. And she's Swedish, so that's not like the most popular country of players to play with. So when we first released that player item, people were like, eh. And then they realized that the Barcelona women's team is absolutely filthy. And that this player item was going to upgrade really quickly and become really powerful. And. And suddenly people were watching all their games. People were commenting on all of her stuff on social media. Like, it got to a point where she was posting being like, what is. What is this? Like, what are. Why are you all yelling at me? Like, and at the time, she was coming back from an injury, and so I selected her, like, and this is where my player knowledge comes in. I had seen, like, little inklings of maybe she might. She might be on the track to be healthy for this next game. Like, I saw photos of her in training. I saw what she was participating in, and I'm like, I think she's going to be healthy enough for this campaign. And it just, like, popped off. And suddenly she was posting with her new player item. All these new fans were commenting on her stuff. Like, it's incredible what this video game can do for women's soccer and women's sports. And that's like the example I use every time.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, I have so many examples, too, Nicole. So growing up, I was, you know, I'd played in a World cup, played in the Olympics, was, you know, won an MLS cup, whatever. The minute I was on the COVID of Fee at that time, FIFA, my friends would text me and be like, dude, you're actually a real player. And I'm like, what are you talking about?

[Nicole Baxter]

Suddenly they respect you totally.

[Landon Donovan]

And it. And it's true. And I'm like, we're making light of it, but it's true. Like, my daughter, now she's six years old, she's playing ea like, she's playing all the time. We did this game, we were in the Jacuzzi the other night, and we were doing, okay, let's name soccer players and go around with my three kids and. But you can't say the same name twice. And she was rattling off names. And to Tim's point, this is how. This is how I learned about soccer player. I couldn't watch on tv. We didn't have tv. So this is how people are learning. And I think it's phenomenal. Okay, so speaking of COVID athletes, this is such a great talking point. So how do you decide? How does EA decide? I know EA now will do multiple athletes, sometimes based on where you're located or three on a cover or whatever. What goes into that? And what I'm really curious, like, behind the scenes, is there lobbying? I'm sure our agents call are like, how does this all. How does this happen?

[Nicole Baxter]

So my team doesn't handle that, so I actually don't know the answer to that. But from afar, I feel like I watch the. The other teams that deal with that, and it seems like they always pick, like, the perfect players. And it feels to me like EA is really good at telling a story with their cover athletes. Like, it's gone from kind of just like, picking the, like, I feel like back in the day, it would really be, like, the most popular player at the time. And now you see someone like me. Yeah, of course. Like someone as amazing as you. And now they have. Right. Like Bellingham and Musiala, and they're telling the story of how they grew up playing together. So I actually don't know, like, what goes into how they pick that cover athlete. Like, I'm kind of told around the same time that you are, but I admire how. How they, like, tell the story on the COVID Like, the fact that they have, like, IBRA sitting there on the COVID Like, that stuff, to me, makes you want to buy the game more. Like, it's brilliant marketing, of course.

[Landon Donovan]

And. And to be fair, for the player, you would almost do it for free because of.

[Nicole Baxter]

Oh, yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

It's like. It's like singing at the halftime Super Bowl.

[Nicole Baxter]

Totally.

[Landon Donovan]

It's like you would do it for free because of the promotion and the market, right? Yeah.

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah.

[Tim Howard]

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[Landon Donovan]

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[Tim Howard]

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[Landon Donovan]

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[Tim Howard]

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[Landon Donovan]

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[Tim Howard]

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[Landon Donovan]

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[Tim Howard]

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[Landon Donovan]

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[Tim Howard]

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[Landon Donovan]

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[Landon Donovan]

Credit for Fiber downtime lasting 20 minutes or more or wireless downtime lasting 60 minutes or more caused by a single incident impacting 10 or more towers. Restrictions and exclusions apply. See att.com guarantee for full details. All right, Timmy, I want to tell you about a time I had to choose a much chiller path. 2009 in Seattle. We're playing Real Salt Lake in the MLS Cup Final. We go to penalties. Who misses a penalty? This guy. You got back on the bus. I was crying in the back of the bus. And I had this moment where I had a realization that, yes, I missed the penalty. Yes, we lost chance at winning an MLS cup final. But I had really given everything that year. It was a time in my life that was really tumultuous. And I really put everything, everything, everything into my career and my sport. And I said, you know what? Like, I. I did everything I could have. I tried my hardest, and it didn't work out. And so it was time in that moment to really chill, appreciate what I did, appreciate that moment doesn't always go your way, but you gotta choose chill sometimes and just relax. And when you embrace that chill mindset, it's a good time to choose chill. And as always, crack open a Coors Light.

[Tim Howard]

Absolutely. Make the most of the times you choose to chill. Choose Coors Light. Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door. Visit Coors Light.com USLNT Celebrate Responsibly Coors Brewing Co. Golden Colorado Beer but you talked about ratings. I think ratings are probably the biggest talking point of the game. It's become its own beast. Right. Whether that be a player you like that isn't rated high enough or if it's yourself in the game. Everyone looks for the rating. So can you share with us a little bit how how those come about? And again, lan and I disagree on his rating. I think. I think it was too high. He thinks it's too low. But what's the formula? Or, like, what's the algorithm to come up with that?

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah. And I'm actually excited to talk about this because I saw some of your videos where you were trying to guess, like, the highest rated player, like men's national team goalkeeper. You looked at Messi's rating and you're like, what the heck is going on here? And I can really relate to that side of it as, like a footballer. Like, you look at some of these ratings and you're like, I cannot possibly understand how they came up with Messi being an 84, but it's actually like a really intricate system that I've grown to really admire and respect since working at EA Sports. And we have an entire data collection and licensing team based out of Germany. And they have individual producers dedicated to tracking all of the leagues that are in the game, both men's and women's leagues. And they use different stats, they scout matches, they watch matches in person and online. Like, it's really, really detailed and intricate. And so I try to remind myself, like, when I'm looking at these ratings, like, these people probably know better than I do, but there's always, like, that you always have an opinion on certain players or like, there's always going to be some aspect of, like, subjectivity. But when it comes down to it, the ratings are so intricate because there's like, all you really see as a user is like, you pay attention to the OVR and like the face stats, but there's all these sub attributes, there's play styles, there's different roles, and those all contribute to like, the power of a player item. So it's actually like a lot. I keep saying the word intricate, but it's a lot more intricate than you would think when you just like, look at a player and see their OVR rating.

[Tim Howard]

So how much. When we're looking at teams, we. You talked about kind of the algorithm and all the scouts is. It is a. Is Real Madrid getting as much time where they're getting the most time? But then you look at, I don't know, let's say a second or third division team in England or something like that. Like, how. How is that broken down from a scouting standpoint?

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah, so every DCNL producer is assigned to specific leagues and that doesn't just go for, like the top leagues, that goes for second, third, fourth tier leagues. Like, every league that's in our game has a DCNL producer that is assigned to pay attention to them. So everyone's getting the same amount of attention and the same amount of love. And yeah, we we treat everyone, like, very equally.

[Landon Donovan]

But Nicole, is it like, okay, you're being very diplomatic. I respect that. Is it like, the intern who just signed is doing, like, League two in England and Accrington, Stanley and Gillingham, and, like, the. The person who's been there for 15 years is doing Chelsea?

[Nicole Baxter]

It has to be. That's definitely. I mean, it's definitely possible. But, like, I know. For example, I was just speaking with a producer who works on. She's, like, one of the main producers for Liga F, which, arguably, I would say the NWSL is the best league in the world, but Liga F, top league in the world, like, has the top team in the world. She's also assigned to the French league, too. So it's like, these people, no matter which leagues they're focusing on, like, they all know the same, if that makes sense. And so it's not necessarily, like, oh, well, the most veteran producers get La Liga or, you know, but you're not.

[Landon Donovan]

Giving the most veteran producer, like, French League. There's no way.

[Nicole Baxter]

I would. Yeah, I would highly doubt that.

[Tim Howard]

But here's a. Here's a comment, though, as. As you're talking through that for. For the three soccer people having this conversation, like, is there a. Am I crazy to say, ld that, like, you could take one of these scouts and plug them into a real team? Like, hear me out for a second.

[Landon Donovan]

Of course.

[Tim Howard]

Their knowledge.

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Tim Howard]

All right. We might be onto something here. If you're a team owner or GM or technical director, this. This could be the way forward.

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah. Like, they might watch more football than the average person, and they're watching levels of football that you probably wouldn't want to watch. So they're probably learning about a lot. About a lot of different players.

[Tim Howard]

I think we just cracked a code here. All right. I think we just cracked. We need to. We need to buy a team and then implement these as scouts. That's incredible.

[Landon Donovan]

Deal.

[Nicole Baxter]

And full disclosure. Like, I actually. I saw your video where you guys were like, the people who do the EA ratings must be the same people who do the FIFA rankings. That was hilarious.

[Tim Howard]

That's a Landon comment. Cause here's why. Here's why. Here's why. Because going back to ratings and a little bit, what Landon was saying, once I was in the video game, I made it. My rating could have been a 23. I didn't care. I was in the video game. And as a kid growing up, when I did, I was like, I made it. I'm famous.

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah, 100%. The ratings are still scary though. Like, so I got. I was rated in the game. I never made it into the game. Cause I had retired. And when I first started working here, some of the DCNL producers were like, do you want to know your rating? And I was like, no, I really don't think I do.

[Landon Donovan]

Absolutely not.

[Nicole Baxter]

Terrified to know this. And I can't remember if they told me or not. But then I was in their ratings database yesterday and I was thinking about this podcast and I'm like, oh, let me just like search my name. Because they have all the retired players in there. I tried to click on my name and it was like, you're not authorized to look at this. I was like, this is probably for the best.

[Tim Howard]

It's a bus.

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah, yeah. So I understand why. It's like just being in the game is simply not good enough. You need a good rating.

[Tim Howard]

For me, it was.

[Landon Donovan]

Do you guys ever hear from players about our agents or stuff about ratings?

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah, we do.

[Landon Donovan]

Amazing. Without naming names, can you give us like an example of a conversate?

[Nicole Baxter]

Like, I can remember and sometimes it's not even through agents. Like, remember, I have a lot of friends in the nwsl. I've had NWSL players, NWSL coaches text me and be like, what is going on here? And sometimes I agree with them. Like sometimes, sometimes I totally agree where I look at an item and I'm like, I don't understand what decent I was looking at. Like, I thought this was one of the fastest players in the league. Like, how are the. How is this their speed? I can remember an example. It was either from last year or the year before. Someone, it was like, this one wasn't through an agent. This was kind of through like friends of friends of friends. It got back to us that like a big time player was really disappointed with the defending that we gave him. And it's. It's funny. Like it. I love hearing the feedback. But we can also kind of work with that. Like just like our marketing team likes telling stories for the COVID We also like that in Ultimate Team. Like if someone is outwardly talking about something, that's like motivation for us to like work with that in some way. Like, I think Yamal, he did something in a game and he posted on Twitter or Instagram and he was like, he was like, yo, I need that Travella. It was like a Travella or trickster playstyle. And we were like, well, maybe we should give it to him, you know? So it's like, I like when players give their feedback. Like, I want to know what they want to see. You're going to give them bargain. That's really fun.

[Tim Howard]

You're going to give them a Bardigan.

[Landon Donovan]

Absolutely. Blast every end of yourself.

[Tim Howard]

By me as well. My rating's going up because I'm going to, I'm on a campaign.

[Landon Donovan]

I'm going to say that this is the dumbest comment, but I swear it's true. And I'm just going to out myself right now. If I had known that while I was playing and like my defending was a 65, I would have defended harder. I swear on my life. I don't disagree at this comment, but I swear I would have.

[Tim Howard]

I wish you would have in some games.

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah, I'm not much of a defender either.

[Tim Howard]

No, no, he was way too good. We need him up the pitch.

[Landon Donovan]

Who are the highest rated player? Men and female and male.

[Nicole Baxter]

Oh. In the game.

[Landon Donovan]

Who are they and what are they? Do you know? You can bring that up. That's amazing.

[Nicole Baxter]

That's a great question.

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, I guess they could just Google it, probably.

[Tim Howard]

I, I, I would say I could guess.

[Nicole Baxter]

We have icons and heroes in the game as well, like, as you guys know. So they are the highest, highest rated players.

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, they'll be higher rated than Ronaldinho.

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Tim Howard]

He's hot. He's got to be high.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, that's probably true.

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah. Like, Pele's in there. Who are the highest roots? I should probably know this.

[Landon Donovan]

So what about Bon Mati?

[Nicole Baxter]

She. Yep, she's a 91. Her and Pateus are. They've been, they've been riding those high spots for the past like two or three years. But that's why, that's why I'm like, those are some of the best, like, footballers I've ever seen. And they're 91. 84. Oh, my God. I would pay EA Sports for 80.

[Landon Donovan]

I just don't believe that. I don't believe that.

[Tim Howard]

I now know. I now ld. You're making me think, like, I want to know what my highest ever rating was. That's weird. I'm gonna.

[Nicole Baxter]

You want me to look it up?

[Tim Howard]

It would. Yeah, it would have to be after the 2014 World Cup. I'm almost certain of it.

[Landon Donovan]

I bet I better.

[Tim Howard]

93. 93.

[Nicole Baxter]

What? Wow. Really?

[Landon Donovan]

There's no way that is messing with.

[Tim Howard]

This is a way.

[Landon Donovan]

There's no way.

[Tim Howard]

Have you, you watch.

[Nicole Baxter]

To be fair, I don't know if there would be a goalkeeper. That was a 93LD.

[Landon Donovan]

96. Let's go.

[Tim Howard]

When?

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah, but is that for ultimate Team or is that.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, who knows?

[Landon Donovan]

You know, Nicole, I think that's.

[Tim Howard]

Let's just stop talking. Let's just stop talking. 93, 96. We're done. Wrap this thing up.

[Nicole Baxter]

Cut that part.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay, so when you're. So we have ratings and then, you know, we talked about going back in the day when we would. We would go to Vancouver. You said you guys. They would come to you with like a mobile truck and put on the motion sensors, whatever. They obviously can't do that for every single player in the game.

[Nicole Baxter]

Right, right. So I do. So they do the scans for every single player. But you don't all start off looking exactly like yourself. So there's like a certain percentage of players, like when the game releases, that they have their star heads is what they call it. So when the game releases, it would be like X percentage of this league has their starheads. And as the game goes on, more and more players get it. And I really just think that's like a capacity thing. Like, you can't. It's like. It's like, how slow would that upload if all of those were put in at once? So they kind of like spread it out. So obviously like the highest rated players or the players that contribute the most, usually the ones who like start the game with their.

[Landon Donovan]

You're not. You're not physically scanning every single player in the game?

[Nicole Baxter]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

So they go to every team and scan them.

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah, yeah. At least that's. That was my experience with it.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Nicole Baxter]

I mean, if anyone was going to not be scanned, it would have been me.

[Landon Donovan]

You got scammed.

[Nicole Baxter]

I was barely playing, but so I got scanned. Everyone got scanned.

[Tim Howard]

LD. It was like at the end, like at the end of my Everton career. So that's like about 2016. So, like, you know, on media day, when you do all the green screen stuff.

[Landon Donovan]

Hey, I'm Tim Howard.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, you jumped it. You jumped in the thing and it like it went. Right. That's the one that goes around. Sorry, that goes around you, right? The cameras that, like fly around you.

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah, yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

That's incredible. What about, like getting everyone's movements accurate? Right. Because you can't do that through a scan.

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah. So we. So, like, the scan that I did, I was. It was standstill. So that would just mean that, like my body and my face and my hair and all that stuff looks the same, but they. They don't have me like running.

[Landon Donovan]

Right. So they. There's only so many athletes they can actually have running. Right. Because I do remember watching Going, God, that he actually runs like me.

[Nicole Baxter]

Y. Yeah. Yeah. But you probably did it like a whole thing in the Vancouver studio. You're probably kicking the ball, running around. Yeah. And that tracks for, like, someone of your caliber, but.

[Landon Donovan]

So would they go back in now or have they gone back in and, like, filled in my head with hair?

[Tim Howard]

That's a great question.

[Landon Donovan]

They should, right?

[Tim Howard]

Nicole? We need.

[Landon Donovan]

Nicole, can you push this for 26? Just a full head of hair.

[Nicole Baxter]

Honored to drive that.

[Landon Donovan]

Wouldn't that be amazing?

[Nicole Baxter]

That is something that I can handle. Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

Let's go.

[Tim Howard]

What about. What about me? I don't really want a hair move.

[Nicole Baxter]

I saw actually you did a podcast and you showed up with a.

[Tim Howard]

We did, we did. That was. Yeah, that was here. I was just.

[Nicole Baxter]

That's the picture we're gonna use for you.

[Tim Howard]

Moral support for my guy.

[Landon Donovan]

That'd be great if you had that in the game.

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah. Try to get that in the game.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. Landon needs hair. For the next. For the next edition, please.

[Landon Donovan]

Let's go. Do you get feedback from. Who are the most popular teams that people play with?

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah, we do. We have those numbers somewhere. But I mean, like, most of what I pay attention to, full disclosure, is, like, the women's stuff. Like, people love the FC Barcelona women's team. It's kind of like the teams you would expect, to be honest. And I, like, really want to drive it towards, like, giving love to someone, like, the smaller teams or smaller players. Like, that's a goal of mine, especially for the women. Like, creating new fandom around different teams that maybe aren't as popular, like Paris FC in France. Like, really good women's team. But they're so overshadowed by PSG and Lyon. But yeah, we do. Like, it's those. Those main leagues. The Barcelona is the Real Madrid's, like your classic Premier League teams. Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal. It's all the leagues, the teams from the leagues that you would expect that are the most popular.

[Tim Howard]

Just a quick follow up to that. Have you. Have you all seen Arise with Inter Miami because of Messi?

[Nicole Baxter]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Tim Howard]

That's crazy. I mean, that's insane that you. Yeah, okay.

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah. I mean, the MLS in general, like, and we also have legal requirements, so if we want to use Messi in campaigns, like, we are obligated to use other MLS players as well. So, I mean, what he's done for, like, the business of the mls and he's like the epitome of, like, rising tides, lift all ships. Is that the thing?

[Tim Howard]

Definitely.

[Landon Donovan]

Well, I'll. I'LL finish on this. And it's much more of a comment than a, than a question. And for someone who has a daughter and Tim has a daughter who plays at Tennessee, it's, it's been what you're doing and is remarkable for the women's game. And I can't stress this enough because, you know, my wife gets mad sometimes when my kids are playing EA video games, right? And I said, well, it's better than some fighting game or whatever, and it's better than them, you know, sitting and watching YouTube videos all day. And I learned so much, not only about players, but just about how to play and how to move and how to run by playing the game, by actually playing the video game. And I, you know, I don't know what the data is on this, but I really do think it helped me and it helped me become a professional. And totally and equally you are growing the sport, particularly on the women's side, exponentially. And you say you want Paris FC and you want these teams to grow bigger, but they're going to naturally, because as people are like, oh, and they watch them in zeros and they watch the World cup in 27 and then 31 and here, here at the US probably they're going to get into it and be like, oh, I want to see her and I want to play her or whatever. And then the byproduct is they'll play against Paris SC when they're playing, you know, in the French league or whatever, and all those players will get lifted. So I just want to say kudos to you. You're doing a fantastic job. This has been, this flew by, by the way.

[Nicole Baxter]

We're already 30 minutes.

[Landon Donovan]

We could do this forever. But thank you so much. This has been really enlightening and really helpful for our audience and for me.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, we enjoy, I mean, we, we had a lot of questions that we, we didn't know the answer to and you, you provided incredible insight. So that was, that was fun. That was a ton of fun. I know our, our listeners are going to get a kick out of that because I have a feeling a lot of them are playing the game and.

[Landon Donovan]

There'S a lot of fun.

[Nicole Baxter]

Yeah, I might get a lot of tags on social media now you will from Landon's agent. Full disclosure, I didn't do the initial ratings.

[Landon Donovan]

You're going to DMs are going to.

[Nicole Baxter]

Advocate for the company.

[Landon Donovan]

All the NWSL players are to going to pull up your dms. And we also found out that you are in Jersey on the least coast, as Tim likes to call it. So next time I'm there, let's get together and follow up more. It'll be fun for all of us to sit and chat. So thanks Nicole.

[Nicole Baxter]

Thanks for having me.

[Landon Donovan]

All right, thank you, Nicole, for joining us and providing incredible insights. We appreciate all of you for being here today. I'm assuming there's going to be a lot of comments and questions about all this, so fill up the mailbag. Email Jordan Remember, as always, to subscribe YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, anywhere you get your podcasts and follow us on social media nfiltered Soccer for more content.

[Tim Howard]

Yes, thank you Nicole for your insight. Amazing. Thank you everyone for listening. And really, really importantly, thank you to our presenting sponsor, VW, as well as AT&T and Coors Light. Have an amazing week. Don't forget, season two of Unfiltered Soccer is coming November 11th.

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