Legendary Raiders coach John Madden himself graced the cover of the Madden video game series from 1988 to 2000. Madden 2001 was the first to feature a player when the cover donned Titans running back Eddie George.
The list from then on includes four Hall of Famers and a handful of future Hall of Famers. Eight quarterbacks, five running backs and four wide receivers have graced the covers, including pair of players from the Seahawks, Patriots, Steelers, Lions, and Titans.
It’s been both a blessing and a curse to grace the cover of the only licensed NFL video game as freak injuries and bad seasons have been blamed on Madden.
Here’s my rank of the players who have appeared on the cover, from bottom to top.
Madden NFL 12: Peyton Hillis
Pro Bowls: 0
Super Bowl rings: 0
Madden NFL 08: Vince Young
Pro Bowls: 2
Super Bowl rings: 0
Madden NFL 2002: Daunte Culpepper
Pro Bowls: 3
Super Bowl rings: 0
Madden NFL 07: Shaun Alexander
Pro Bowls: 3
Super Bowl rings: 0
Madden NFL 06: Donovan McNabb
Pro Bowls: 6
Super Bowl rings: 0
Madden 15: Richard Sherman
Pro Bowls: 4
Super Bowl rings: 1
Madden 16: Odell Beckham, Jr.
Pro Bowls: 3
Super Bowl rings: 0
Madden NFL 13: Calvin Johnson
Pro Bowls: 6
Super Bowl rings: 0
Madden 20: Patrick Mahomes
Pro Bowls: 1
Super Bowl rings: 0
Madden 19: Antonio Brown
Pro Bowls: 6
Super Bowl rings: 0
Madden NFL 2004:Michael Vick
Pro Bowls: 4
Super Bowl rings: 0
Madden NFL 2001: Eddie George
Pro Bowls: 4
Super Bowl rings: 0
Madden 17: Rob Gronkowski
Pro Bowls: 5
Super Bowl rings: 2
Madden NFL 2003: Marshall Faulk
Pro Bowls: 7
Super Bowl rings: 1
Madden NFL 10: Troy Polamalu, Larry Fitzgerald
Pro Bowls: 8 and 10
Super Bowl rings: 2 and 0
Madden NFL 09: Brett Favre
Pro Bowls: 11
Super Bowl rings: 1
Madden NFL 11: Drew Brees
Pro Bowls: 11
Super Bowl rings: 0
Madden 18: Tom Brady
Pro Bowls: 13
Super Bowl rings: 6
Madden NFL 2005: Ray Lewis
Pro Bowls: 13
Super Bowl rings: 2
Madden 14 (25th Anniversary Edition): Barry Sanders
Pro Bowls: 10
Super Bowl rings: 0
Who’s next?
Lamar Jackson, Nick Bosa, Michael Thomas, Derrick Henry, Dalvin Cook, and Christian McCaffrey are the first six that come to mind.
