This doesn't mean Palmer hasn't played well since: he rehabbed quickly and played all 16 games the following year (no straightforward task; ask Robert Griffin III) and even made it to the Pro Bowl. However, the Palmer that was in the year 2005 who led with the Madden 23 coins with 32 touchdown passes and the 67.8 completion percentage while only throwing 12 interceptions during his second season as an active player -- has never appeared. His accuracy fell, the Bengals organization's issues resurfaced, and he struggled with elbow issues, which is likely the effect of throwing onto his knee that was surgically repaired.

His time in Cincinnati was over when the Bengals finished 4-12 during the 2010 season. Palmer was eighth season with the team. Palmer has stated that he'd like to retire at the age of 31 rather than play for the Bengals for another time: "I have $80 million in my bank account. I don't have to play football for money. I'll do it to love football but it isn't the only reason. I'm ready to lead my life to the fullest." Consider that for a moment: Palmer, the first overall selection in the 2003 Madden NFL 23 Draft, younger in comparison to both Tom Brady and Peyton Manning and was ready to never be a football player again until 31. This is how much playing for the Bengals is a pain in the arse.

Bengals manager Mike Brown, who created his perpetually failing machine with financial prudence and nepotism, refused to accept draft picks that were free from a quarterback-deficient league. "Carson signed a contract. He made a promise. He gave his word," Brown said. "We were relying on his word. We relied on his commitment. We had hoped that he would perform here. He's going to withdraw of his commitment. We're not going him for doing what he did."

Brown finally broke through halfway into the 2011 season, sending Palmer to Oakland to receive a first-round selection and a second-rounder with a conditional selection, one of the reasons that the Raiders have managed to stay more unsuccessful as the Bengals during the last two decades.

There's a reason that Oakland's fans who love the game shout through the Black Hole: because the collapsed star physics apply to Raiders. When quarterbacks reach the Event Horizon of being an Oakland Raider, their photons are madden coins buy reduced to zero, meaning that we can't observe them disappear. We just end up looking away.