Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley capped off a record breaking season in 2024 by being named the cover athlete to the Madden NFL ‘26 video game.
Barkley in 2024 earned his first All Pro recognition by setting NFL records for rushing yards in the regular season and playoffs (2,504) along with total yards from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs (2,857).
Barkley’s efforts earned him NFL Offensive Player of the Year, Maxwell Football Club’s Bert Bell Award given to their NFL Player of the Year, and was a key force in the Eagles second Super Bowl victory over 40-22 over the two-time reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
The Madden NFL franchise has been a cornerstone product by EA Sports. The video game is named for John Madden, who collaborated with Electronic Arts in 1988 to release the title John Madden Football.
Madden was the coverman for the first 12 releases of the franchise. In 2000, Barry Sanders was seen in the background and is regarded as the first athlete to appear on the North American side of the game.
Since 2001, the game’s cover has featured players notably Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Ray Lewis, amongst others.
Barkley is the eighth running back to be on the cover, joining Sanders (Madden NFL 2000, Madden NFL 25 – 2013), Eddie George (Madden NFL 2001), Marshall Faulk (Madden NFL 2003), Shaun Alexander (Madden NFL 2007), Peyton Hillis (Madden NFL 12), Adrian Peterson (Madden NFl 25 – 2013), and Christian McCaffrey (Madden NFL 25 – 2024).
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Barkley is a former Penn State running back (2015 to 2017) who was a Consensus All-American and Penn State’s only two-time Big Ten Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year (2016, 2017).
