Saquon Barkley Madden cover: Eagles RB’s hurdle to grace video game

Show Caption

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.

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?’”

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.

• 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