Saquon Barkley Madden cover: Eagles RB's hurdle to grace video game
The popular "Madden" video game franchise announced Monday that Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley would be gracing its cover in 2025.
Barkley was chosen after producing just the ninth 2,000-yard rushing season in NFL history in his first year with the Eagles. He achieved the feat despite sitting out the final game of the regular season to prepare for Philadelphia's Super Bowl run.
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The game's cover art will feature Barkley's most iconic play from the 2024 campaign: a 14-yard reception during which he reverse hurdled over Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jarrian Jones. The move came after Barkley had already used his patented spin move to avoid another would-be tackler.
SAQUON BARKLEY HURDLE: Eagles RB wows coach, fans with highlight reel play
Below is a look at the "Madden 26" cover, via the team's X (formerly Twitter) account:
Barkley referred to making the cover as a "dream come true" in a post shared to social media.
"It starts with imagination," Barkley said. "Being a kid, having those moments, playing video games and saying, 'Why can't I do it in real life?'"
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Barkley will be the second Eagles player to be on the cover of a Madden game. Donovan McNabb was the first to do so for the 2006 iteration of the game.
Barkley will also become the third-ever Eagles player to earn a 99 overall rating – the highest in the game – as the team revealed following the cover announcement. Philadelphia's previous members of the 99 club were safety Brian Dawkins (2004) and kicker David Akers (2006).
Madden cover athletes by year
Madden first put an athlete on the cover in 2001, when Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George was chosen to front the game. Below is a look at all of the people to earn the cover art nod since then.
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2001: Eddie George, RB, Tennessee Titans
2002: Daunte Culpepper, QB, Minnesota Vikings
2003: Marshall Faulk, RB, St. Louis Rams
2004: Michael Vick, QB, Atlanta Falcons
2005: Ray Lewis, LB, Baltimore Ravens
2006: Donovan McNabb, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
2007: Shaun Alexander, RB, Seattle Seahawks
2008: Vince Young, QB, Tennessee Titans
2009: Brett Favre, QB, Green Bay Packers
2010: Troy Polamalu, S, Pittsburgh Steelers and Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals
2011: Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
2012: Peyton Hillis, RB, Cleveland Browns
2013: Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions
2014: Barry Sanders, RB, Detroit Lions
2014: Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings
2015: Richard Sherman, CB, Seattle Seahawks
2016: Odell Beckham Jr., WR, New York Giants
2017: Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots
2018: Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
2019: Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
2020: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
2021: Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
2022: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs and Tom Brady, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2023: John Madden, Pro Football Hall of Fame coach
2024: Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
2025: Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers
2026: Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Eagles RB Saquon Barkley chosen as Madden 26 cover athlete
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