EA recently renewed its licensing agreement with the NFL. So we can look forward to several more years of Madden games and star-studded covers.
Recently, the NFL and Electronic Arts (EA) Sports agreed to an extension that ensures the Madden franchise will continue through 2026. An NFL player appears on the cover of EA’s football game annually. It’s an elite club, and the following five superstars could find themselves depicted on millions of plastic video game covers in the coming decade.
The first Madden video games were called John Madden Football, with the Hall of Fame coach appearing on the cover. The game premiered in 1988 and EA started releasing annual versions in 1990. When the company acquired the rights to use NFL logos, teams, and players in 1993, EA changed the game’s name to Madden NFL.
While John Madden appeared on all of the early covers, Eddie George became the first player to be featured on the cover when Madden NFL 2001 released in 2000. The shift to players appearing on the cover generated the current iconic system, whereby a new superstar becomes the face of Madden every year.
5. George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers
Since Madden games began featuring players on the cover in 2000, only one tight end has seen his face plastered on the annual commodity. New England’s Rob Gronkowski adorned the cover of Madden 17. The future Hall of Fame tight end is depicted midway through his signature touchdown spike.
While Gronkowski did announce his return to the NFL this year, the future Hall of Famer is two years removed from his last Pro Bowl season. We don’t know what Gronkowski will look like in 2020, but he could not be the dominant force he once was. At this point, George Kittle is arguably the most Gronkowski-like tight end in the NFL, even more so than Gronk himself.
Kittle is the most dominant tight end in the NFL. Travis Kelce might be a better receiver, but Kittle is a destructive force in the running game. Unlike Kelce, Kittle seeks out contact as a run blocker and enjoys hammering defenders. The 26-year-old, 250-pound behemoth will one day be the highest-paid tight end in NFL history, and he deserves every penny.