EA Sports has revealed the cover athlete for its “Madden NFL 25” game. San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey will get the prized spot on the cover of the enormously popular video game.
McCaffrey led the NFL with 1,459 rushing yards last season and scored 14 touchdowns. He also led NFL running backs with seven receiving touchdowns while catching 67 passes for 564 yards (second among players at the position).
His 21 total scores were tied for most in the league. Additionally, McCaffrey tied an NFL record, scoring a touchdown in 17 consecutive games.
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That performance led to McCaffrey winning the 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year award.
“Christian McCaffrey is a human highlight reel on NFL Sundays and our players love his dynamic abilities in ‘Madden,’ scoring more than 450 million touchdowns with him last year and making him the most popular running back in ‘Madden NFL 24,’” said Madden NFL senior production director Mike Mahar in EA Sports’ official release.
“Christian’s electrifying, dynamic and physical play style perfectly represents the gameplay innovations we’re bringing to Madden NFL 25 and made him the perfect fit for this year’s cover,” Mahar added.
McCaffrey is the first non-quarterback to be the Madden cover athlete in six years (or two years, if you count John Madden himself being on the cover of Madden 23.) Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was featured last year. The last running back to get the cover was 11 years ago, when Adrian Peterson and Barry Sanders shared the honor.
McCaffrey is also the first 49ers player to be featured on the worldwide edition of the game. Garrison Hearst was on the cover of the international edition in 1999.
“To be on the cover of Madden NFL is a career achievement and an honor I share with all of my teammates, coaches and 49er faithful who have helped make it possible,” McCaffrey said in the official release. “I’m pumped to get back on the field this year to give Madden players more reasons to keep scoring touchdowns with me in ‘Madden NFL 25.'”
McCaffrey was among the players that fans predicted could be on the Madden 25 cover, along with Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson, Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Madden NFL 25 will be released on Aug. 16 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and will also be available for PC.