Madden NFL 26 is scheduled to be released in August 2025, and the announcement of who this year's cover athlete (or possibly athletes) will be is coming ever closer.
From 1988 to 2000, the late legend himself, John Madden, was featured on the cover of the game. Last year's released marked the 24th iteration of the popular NFL video game to feature a cover athlete in San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, rather than the 25th, as Madden himself was once again featured on the cover of Madden 23 after his death in December 2021.
Though Madden NFL '95 also featured Dallas Cowboys left tackle Erik Williams and San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Karl Wilson in the background, and Madden NFL 2000 featured Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders in the background, the tradition of having a true cover athlete only began with Madden NFL 2001, which was released in August 2000 with Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George on the cover.
Every year provides its own debate as to who should or shouldn't be on the next cover, and there are plenty of deserving athletes for whom a strong case can be made to be on the cover of this year's edition.
Having said that, there are still those wary of the infamous "Madden Curse", as several cover athletes over the years have either struggled the following season or gotten hurt – or both.
Before this year's cover athlete is revealed, let's have a look at each cover athlete on the Madden NFL video game, dating back to George's appearance in 2001.
Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
2001 | Eddie George | Tennessee Titans |
2002 | Daunte Culpepper | Minnesota Vikings |
2003 | Marshall Faulk | St. Louis Rams |
2004 | Michael Vick | Atlanta Falcons |
2005 | Ray Lewis | Baltimore Ravens |
2006 | Donovan McNabb | Philadelphia Eagles |
2007 | Shaun Alexander | Seattle Seahawks |
2008 | Vince Young | Tennessee Titans |
2009 | Brett Favre | Green Bay Packers |
2010 | Troy Polamalu, Larry Fitzgerald | Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals |
2011 | Drew Brees | New Orleans Saints |
2012 | Peyton Hillis | Cleveland Browns |
2013 | Calvin Johnson | Detroit Lions |
2014 (Madden NFL 25) | Barry Sanders | Detroit Lions |
2015 | Richard Sherman | Seattle Seahawks |
2016 | Odell Beckham Jr. | New York Giants |
2017 | Rob Gronkowski | New England Patriots |
2018 | Tom Brady | New England Patriots |
2019 | Antonio Brown | Pittsburgh Steelers |
2020 | Patrick Mahomes | Kansas City Chiefs |
2021 | Lamar Jackson | Baltimore Ravens |
2022 | Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes | Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs |
2023 | John Madden (head coach) | N/A |
2024 | Josh Allen | Buffalo Bills |
2025 | Christian McCaffrey | San Francisco 49ers |
Who will be on the cover of this year's game? Will it be another first-timer, or will we see another repeat like we saw four years ago with both Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes?