With the NFL Draft taking place this week and the reveal of Madden 24 seemingly right around the corner, it’s time to predict who will be this year’s cover athlete. Last year’s game saw John Madden – whom which EA’s annual football franchise is named after — grace the cover of Madden 23 after the legendary coach and commentator passed away.
While John Madden was the face of the video game franchise for many years, it was in 2001 that EA shifted towards putting actual players on the cover of its game.
For Madden 22, EA had both Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes on the cover, the first time a Madden game featured two cover athletes since 2010’s game which had both Pittsburgh Steelers DB Troy Polamalu and Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald. Madden 21 had Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, while Madden 20 had Kansas City star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. There seems to be a running trend of late in which quarterbacks are the face of Madden, which makes sense given that they are typically the face of their team.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some worthy cover athlete candidates for Madden NFL 24.
Tom Brady (retired)
Tom Brady announced his retirement, for the second time, back in February. This time, it sounds like he’s for real. I can’t think of a better way to pay tribute to his storied 23-year NFL career than by putting him on the cover of Madden one final time.
Winner of seven Super Bowls, Tom Brady also holds multiple NFL records including career passing yards (89,214) and touchdown passes (649). He’s also the only player to ever win more than five Super Bowls.
Tom Brady may be a polarizing figure for many NFL fans — probably those who are sick of him beating on his favorite team — but he’s far and away one of the best candidates to be on the cover of Madden 24. If he’s not on the standard edition of the game, then I fully expect Brady to be on the cover of some sort of special MVP or Legendary edition.
It would be cool to see Brady appear in both a Buccaneers and a Patriots jersey. Or better yet, maybe he un-retires and comes back on the cover in a Miami Dolphins jersey.
Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles)
Jalen Hurts is coming off the best statistical season of his young career and is one of the most exciting quarterbacks in the league. Although he entered last year with just a 74 overall in Madden 23, he quickly proved his doubters wrong.
Hurts compiled a 14-1 regular season record and helped lead the Philadelphia Eagles to Super Bowl LVII. During the regular season, he threw for 3,701 yards and 22 touchdowns while rushing for another 760 yards and 13 touchdowns. His success continued in the postseason where he threw for another 579 yards and three touchdowns, while running for 143 yards and five touchdowns.
The Eagles ultimately fell short to the Kansas City Chiefs, but Hurts put on a heck of a show. He threw for 304 yards and one touchdown, while adding another 70 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Had it not been for Patrick Mahomes’ late game heroics capped by a 27-yard-field goal, there’s a good chance Hurts would’ve had his first Super Bowl ring.
Hurts is one of the most dynamic, playmaking quarterbacks in the NFL and a worthy cover athlete for Madden 24. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him enter next year’s game as a top-five rated quarterback in the game.
It will be interesting to see if Hurts can sustain this level of play in the years to come, but for now he’s among the league’s best. And the Eagles certainly have confidence in him as evidenced by the five-year contract extension he signed in the offseason worth $255 million ($180 million guaranteed).
Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)
This would be, in my opinion, one of the more boring choices for the Madden 24 cover, but there’s no denying that Patrick Mahomes is deserving of it. Despite only being in the league for six seasons, of which he has only been the starting quarterback for the Chiefs for five of them, many already consider Patrick Mahomes to be one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.
Mahomes is coming off the second Super Bowl win of his career, having led the Chiefs to a fourth-quarter, game-winning drive in Super Bowl LVII. The 12-play, 66 yard drive, capped by a 27-yard field goal, earned Mahomes his second Super Bowl ring and his second Super Bowl MVP award. With that, he became the first player to win the NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP in the same year since Kurt Warner in 1999. He also joined Tom Brady and Joe Montana as the only quarterbacks to win multiple regular season and Super Bowl MVPs. So yeah, he’s definitely among the greatest.
But despite his magnificent on the field and his marketability, I still think Mahomes would be a boring choice. He’s already been on the cover twice in the previous four years — appearing by himself for Madden 20 and alongside Tom Brady for Madden 22. Three times in five years would seem like overkill.
How about this, instead of Patrick Mahomes, EA gets real bold and invites his younger brother Jackson Mahomes to be the cover athlete for Madden 24? The younger Mahomes brother may not be as talented on the field, but he’s got a solid A-game on social media. Everyone already complains about the cover athlete every year, so EA might as well pick someone we can all universally come together against. It would probably be the only time in the history of Madden that the player base agrees on something.
Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings)
Justin Jefferson has only been in the league since 2020 but the 24-year-old has shown marked improvement each season. In fact, the young Minnesota Vikings receiver is coming off his best season yet in which he led the league in receptions (128) and yards (1,809).
While you could argue that Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams are still marginally better than Jefferson, he’s got a few other things going for him that these veterans don’t. One is age. Jefferson is just 24 years old and the future of the position.
He’s also incredibly talented, obviously.
But most importantly, he’s got star power beyond the football field. Back in 2021, Jefferson’s signature Griddy dance actually made its way into Fortnite. His mass appeal coupled with his ridiculous stats make him a fantastic cover athlete candidates.
Jefferson is the perfect fit for the Madden 24 cover and I’ve got a great idea to go with it. Surprisingly, Jefferson was actually snubbed from Madden 23’s prestigious 99 Club. He began the year with a 93 overall and rose all the way to 97 overall before his season sort of fizzled out towards the end. He finished the season rated 96 overall, but there’s no way that EA keeps him out of the 99 Club for Madden 24. Announce him as the cover athlete for Madden 24 while simultaneously revealing him as the first member of the 99 Club.
Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals)
What’s not to like about Joe Cool? Since coming into the league in 2020, Joe Burrow has become a media darling. Regardless of how you feel about him as a quarterback — and he’s a pretty darn good one — the thing about Joe Burrow is he’s just so effortlessly cool. I mean, have you seen his drip?
On the field, Burrow’s skills match his wardrobe. He may not offer the dual-threat playmaking ability as some of the other quarterbacks in the league, but he’s certainly excelled with his arm.
In 2021, his sophomore season, Burrow led the Bengals to a tough Super Bowl loss. There’s a good chance he would’ve been on the cover of Madden 23 had it not featured John Madden.
But after a follow-up season in which Burrow posted impressive stats — 4,475 yards and 35 touchdowns — while leading the Bengals to their second consecutive AFC Conference Championship, he’s certainly now a worthy candidate for the Madden 24 cover.
The Bengals have become a totally different team since drafting Burrow with the first overall pick in the 2020 draft. And while you can argue that they’ve surrounded him with incredible talent on offense, he’s still the one making the throws and reading the defense.
I say put Joe Burrow on the cover of Madden 24 but don’t put him in a Bengals uniform. Instead, put him front-and-center in one of his ridiculously awesome and outlandish outfits. Burrow may not be the best quarterback in the league — that honor belongs to Patrick Mahomes — but he’s certainly the coolest. And that should be worth something when determining the cover athlete.
Honorable Mentions
While I believe that Brady, Hurts, Mahomes, Jefferson and Burrow are the five most worthy athletes for the Madden 24 cover, I wouldn’t not be surprised or upset to see any of the following on there as well.
Tyreek Hill (Miami Dolphins)
Tyreek Hill, aka Cheetah, is one of the most explosive playmakers in the NFL thanks to his speed and elusiveness. Hill finished second in the league in receptions (119) and yards (1,710) last season, but the veteran has consistently been among the stats leaders for years now. In 2021, he caught 111 passes for 1,239 yards and nine touchdowns. In 2020, he posted 1,276 receiving yards and a whopping 15 touchdowns. Like Jefferson, Hill’s star power exceeds the field, especially as he’s started to dabble with video game streaming.
Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills)
Josh Allen is widely regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in the league. It’s just unfortunate, he’s playing at the same time as Patrick Mahomes. Allen is such a likable guy, and you couldn’t help but feel for him following the heartbreaking overtime loss to Kansas City in the 2021 AFC Divisional playoff game. I mean, 13 seconds. How could you not root for him after that? Josh Allen is talented, likable and a safe option for the cover of Madden 24.
Travis Kelce (Kansas City Chiefs)
If you’re tired of Patrick Mahomes but still feel the need to put a Kansas City Chiefs player on the cover, than Travis Kelce is probably the best option. Despite playing tight end, Kelce was third in the league in receptions last season (110) and finished with 1,338 yards and 12 touchdowns. The dude is a machine and far and away the best tight end in the league. I know it’s not flashy to put a tight end on the cover of Madden, but I really don’t think Mahomes would be who he is without Kelce as a safety net. Plus, he’s got a really fun podcast with his brother Jason Kelce which, now that I think about, it would be really cool to feature both players on the cover. A dual Madden 24 cover with both brothers who just faced each other in the Super Bowl.
Who do you think should be on the cover of Madden 24? Let us know in the comments!