New Madden Cover to Feature: Husband of Brazilian Model and Ketchup on Steak Guy

Feb 1, 2021; Tampa, FL, USA; In this still image from video provided by the NFL, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, left, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady speak during Opening Night for the NFL Super Bowl 55 football game Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. Mandatory Credit: NFL via USA TODAY Sports

Two athletes who are familiar with being on the cover of a Madden NFL game are back as co-cover athletes, a feat that had not been accomplished in over a decade.

EA Sports announced on Thursday that Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, less than four and a half months removed from squaring off against each other in Super Bowl LV (fifty-five), will grace the cover of Madden 22, the first time that more than one athlete will be on the cover of an NFL video game since Madden 10 when Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald were on the cover.

Goats

In a teaser trailer shown by the company on Monday, two goats were seen with former Madden NFL 12 cover athlete Peyton Hillis. In the clip, the former Cleveland Browns running back was shown taking a knee next to the goats while having a phone conversation, telling a mystery individual who called him “they did it again.”

As the NFL.com article notes, “Madden hasn’t seen two athletes split the precious real estate that is the cover of the game since Madden NFL 10, when Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald and Steelers safety Troy Polamalu appeared on the front, posing as if they were about to collide. The choice was a perfect fit for the game that year, which was built around a new mechanic that allowed players to fight for a loose ball and battle for extra yardage —- the inches we speak of that so often determine the outcome of a game . . . EA chose him (Hillis) as the perfect pitchman in its teaser video released Monday, and the thinly veiled messaging became clear Thursday: Hillis’ goats were merely stand-ins for two Greatest of All Times (G.O.A.T.s).”

EA Executives Made an Easy Decision

It’s also interesting how the game is describing the two athletes after the Super Bowl. The comparison between the two is given high marks by the company.

“The pairing of Brady and Mahomes is natural, as it follows in the footsteps of Super Bowl LV’s matchup that saw Brady’s Buccaneers dominate Mahomes’ Chiefs, and it is arguably the most prestigious in Madden history. Brady is undoubtedly headed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame whenever he finally decides to hang up his otherworldly cleats, and with a Super Bowl triumph and Super Bowl MVP under his belt at this still-early stage of his career, Mahomes very well could be headed for Canton, too.”

New Game Features

Every annual edition of the Madden game brings along some new changes to the franchise. And in the newest version, some of the changes are trying to bring a more realistic game day experience to feel to players and fans of the NFL alike.

“Madden fans will power up and dive into a game to see brand-new presentation packages that include Next Gen Stats elements and effectively capture the pageantry and excitement of an NFL contest better than ever before . . . It didn’t stop there with the importance of that setting. EA Sports has introduced a new feature —– Gameday Momentum —– that can shut down special abilities of opposing star players. Players will know the momentum is in their favor or working against them with an in-game meter, and if they don’t look toward the meter, they won’t be able to ignore it based on what they’re hearing from the raucous virtual fans.”

The Madden franchise is a rich one with many features that have made the game feel like real-life NFL simulations. And with Madden 22 set to come out in August, the game will be even closer to fans with new features that continue to build on its lifelikeness.