[Rebel10]

OP, what you've outlined is a successful free2play game. EA deserves cynical recognition for crafting one of the most psychologically dependent cash-grabbing free2play console games. It does nearly everything very well to lure you in, give you enough to keep you entertained, and then set the hook for you to spend moderate amounts of money for depleting rewards.

Roger Dickey, from Zynga, coined the phrase "fun pain" that describes many successful free2play models, and Madden Ultimate team is the gold standard of "fun pain" that encourages people to dish out cash in order to bring an end to the discomfort.

I'm not bothered by MUT at all because EA still invests in other areas of the game, like Franchise mode, but one casualty of MUT is that you can never play with legends unless you're playing with MUT teams. I really wish EA made more use of the legends that they have at their disposal instead of making them lure for MUT. I'd absolutely love to play "Play Now" and online games with legendary teams and players, against friends, or have fantasy franchise modes with legends, but unfortunately you know that it'll never be the case. Given how successful MUT is (and I'd wager they may make more money from MUT sales than they do actual retail sales over a given year), these legend players that every NFL fan would love to play with in other modes will always just be bait for the free2play model.