In Superstar, you can create your own NFL player, progress through your career, and build your legacy. Learn how to play Superstar in Madden NFL 26, request a trade to a new team, and earn rewards along the way.
Superstar mode is available in Madden NFL 26 on these platforms.
PlayStation®5
Xbox Series X|S
PC
Nintendo Switch™ 2
You have to be online and connected to the EA servers to access all Superstar modes.
Superstar is a mode in Madden NFL 26 that allows you to create your own NFL player and guide them through their professional football career. With Superstar, you’ll create your own Avatar, focus on their career journey, and climb through the ranks of football stardom.There are two ways to play Superstar: The League or Showdown.
Superstar: The League
Superstar: The League is a single-player career mode. You can create and customize your player (known as an Avatar), build their legacy, and lead them to Champion status.
From the NFL Combine to the NFL Draft and from Rookie to Superstar, your Avatar’s professional football career is in your hands. Throughout the season, you’ll complete challenges, set milestones, and earn rewards.
In The League, your performance will be graded in real-time. You’ll get post-game reports and drive summaries that let you know how you performed and where you can improve. The choices you make through media appearances, team interactions, and partnerships will impact your career.
Superstar: Showdown
In Superstar: Showdown, you can compete with friends or other players online using your Avatar from The League. This mode lets you showcase your skills and progress your Superstar’s career while playing against other Superstars.
You'll unlock rewards faster when playing with your Avatar in both The League and Showdown modes.
What’s new for Madden NFL 26?
Superstar in Madden NFL 26 delivers a deeper, more immersive experience with the introduction of Game Day Beats, Sphere of Influence, and Career Chapters. These three new systems reshape how you progress as an NFL Superstar.
Game Day Beats keeps your Avatar’s journey alive between games.
These weekly content drops feature news, social media chatter, and narrative updates that reflect your on-field performance and off-field choices.
Whether it's headlines about your last game or reactions to your latest endorsement, Game Day Beats gives your career context and keeps you connected to your rising stardom.
In Madden NFL 26, your decisions carry more weight thanks to the new Sphere of Influence system.
Your Avatar will build relationships with coaches, teammates, rivals, and even fans, all of which affect gameplay and narrative.
Earning influence unlocks new perks, impacts team dynamics, and shapes your player’s legacy. The more you engage, the more doors open, on and off the field.
Superstar now unfolds in Career Chapters, a reimagined structure that breaks your journey into meaningful phases, each with its own goals, rewards, and narrative milestones.
From Combine hopeful to legendary status, each chapter adapts to how you play and the decisions you make.
Follow these steps to kick off your Superstar career.
1
Go to the main menu in Madden NFL 26 and choose Superstar.
2
Select Enter Superstar.
Create your ideal NFL player by customizing these Avatar attributes. Choose a position
Quarterback
Halfback
Wide Receiver
Linebacker
Cornerback
Fill out your player info
First Name
Last Name
Number
Handedness (Left or Right)
Hometown
College
Customize your player’s appearance
Head & Skin
Hair
Define your player’s physical attributes
Archetype
Available options will depend on the position your Avatar plays. The Archetype you choose determines your player's Key Abilities.
Body type
Skill ratings
Physical ratings
Heads up: After you choose a position for your Avatar, you won’t be able to create another Superstar using the same position. Find out more about customizing or editing your Avatar in Superstar.
Now that you’ve created your Avatar, it’s time to show them what you’ve got at the NFL Combine. Here, your player can showcase their skills in a series of mini-games and drills, including bench presses, broad jumping, and the 40-yard dash. Here’s how the NFL Combine works.
Your performance in each drill increases or decreases your draft position.
Each drill has a range of expected results based on the position and Archetype you chose when creating your Avatar.
After the Combine drills, you can take part in an optional Combine Interview, where you’ll answer timed, football-themed trivia questions. The more questions you answer correctly, the higher you can rise on draft boards.
When you finish the Combine, the next stop is the NFL Draft.
Your NFL draft position will depend on your overall performance at the Combine.
The team you’re drafted to depends on your NFL Combine performance and the needs of that team.
If you want to play for a specific team, you can choose to skip the draft process during The League's initial set-up steps.
Once drafted, you’ll start your career as a rookie.
You’ll start as a rookie, but the aim of Superstar is to work your way up the professional football ladder, win championships, and eventually achieve Legendary status.
Take part in Weekly Activities, play games, and meet goals to earn XP. Earning XP unlocks Skill Points, which you can use to upgrade your player.
Performance is an important part of career progression in Superstar. How well your player performs in games affects how quickly they climb the ranks.
Playing well can lead to more opportunities, like more playing time, better contracts, and increased popularity. If your player performs poorly during games, it might slow your career growth.
Superstar has a Player Grading system that gives you real-time feedback on your performance. Your grade lets you know how well you’re doing while highlighting what skills and abilities need improvement.
With Superstar Quests, you can set objectives, complete challenges, and earn rewards. You’ll have control over which objectives you focus on, so you can aim for the rewards you really want.Here are some objectives and quests you can tackle in Superstar.
Game goals
Season objectives
Career milestones
Stat-based missions
Team win/loss objectives
Brand missions
Social media
Superstar has a Social Media feature that lets you check out how fans and experts are reacting to developments in your football career.
Get insights into your popularity, check for brand opportunities, and learn the public’s opinion on your game performances, stats, endorsements, and off-field decisions.
Side activities
Complete weekly side activities to help grow your Superstar status off the field and boost your team’s rating.
Here are some weekly side activities and the benefits of completing them.
Training sessions to improve player skills.
Team meetings and strategy sessions to enhance teamwork.
Rest and recovery days to maintain peak performance.
Community outreach events to engage with fans.
Charity events to build a positive public image.
Media appearances and interviews to boost popularity.
Endorsement deals to increase revenue.
Unique challenges and competitions for additional rewards.
How to get traded in Superstar mode
If you’re ready for a fresh start or want to join a specific team, you can demand a trade at the end of a season.
Steps to get traded in Superstar mode
Here’s some info to know about requesting a trade in Superstar.
Build influence with your agent
If you’ve earned enough influence with your agent, you’ll have the option to demand a trade at the end of every season.
Pick your new team
Choose the new team you want to go to.
When the Demand Trade prompt appears, choose Yes toconfirm your selection.
Prepare for the transition
Your agent will handle the details and get you to your new team before the next season begins.
Heads-up: getting traded to a new team comes with challenges. You’ll need to build relationships with new teammates from scratch and may have to earn the starting role again.
Check out this video to learn how to request a trade in Superstar mode.
What rewards can be earned in Superstar?
You can earn different rewards by playing with your Superstar Avatar in The League and Showdown.
XP helps your Avatar level up and converts into Skill Points to increase your player ratings.
Ability slots equip better and stronger abilities.
Cred unlocks equipment and animations to personalize your character.
