[brewersfan84]

I was surprised by this last year also, but truthfully you ARE able to download the roster updates without having a GOLD account! I always had the free silver account, and I was worried about this too. You can go to the madden online portion of the game, and then you can download the latest roster update for offline use. It's only once you try and play a match online, when it tells you that you don't have the required level account to enjoy playing online or w/e the message says. Hope this helps, as it would save so much time!