Every year the hype around the new Madden NFL football game gets bigger and bigger, usually leading to disappointment whenever the actual game is released, but it all climaxes around the unveiling of the cover athlete a few months beforehand. This year the cover athlete is none other than the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey, showing off his defined muscles and 49ers jersey with a familiar AFC West foe in the background.
Christian McCaffrey is officially the cover athlete for Madden 25 👏 pic.twitter.com/4ED6Cbl4mn
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 11, 2024
That's right, the cover of Madden NFL 25 not only features last year's NFL Rushing Yards Leader but it also features the Las Vegas Raiders. Only, the Raiders wish they weren't on the iconic video game cover.
Why? Because they can be seen in the background chasing after the speedy running back from Stanford. This is especially interesting (and funny) because this marks the first time that the cover of the Madden game features such a thing. This technically marks the first time a Raiders player has made the cover, but the second Raider to make the list in the past three years thanks to their iconic head coach and inspiration for the game's name--John Madden.
Sure, there have been multiple teams on the cover of Madden before but both teams' players have been specifically featured like when Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes shared the cover with then-Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady on Madden NFL 22. Or when Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu and Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald shared the cover of Madden NFL 10.
Sadly, for Raiders fans, their appearance on the cover of the Madden NFL 25 edition only shows their blown coverage and lack of speed behind the former Carolina Panther running back.
McCaffrey becomes the first running back to grace the cover of Madden since Adrian Peterson and Barry Sanders split the duties on separate covers of Madden NFL 25 which marked the 25th anniversary of the game--not the year.
Not only that, McCaffrey becomes the first non-QB to grace the cover since Madden NFL 19 which featured then-Pittsburgh Steeler Antonio Brown (unless you count Head Coach John Madden two years ago which was a memoriam to the Hall of Fame Raiders coach).
The 49ers star running back, who recently signed a two-year extension, joins an elite group of backs to grace the Madden cover that features Peterson, Sanders, Peyton Hillis, Shaun Alexander, Marshall Faulk and Eddie George.
McCaffrey said that being on the cover is a "Lifelong Dream Come True" on his Twitter page when it was announced, something that I'm sure the Raiders' defense is not saying to themselves today.