Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers has been announced as the cover athlete for Madden 25 by EA Sports. He is the first running back to be featured on the Madden cover in over a decade. The last running back to grace the cover was Adrian Peterson in 2013 for legacy consoles and Barry Sanders for next-gen systems on the 25th anniversary of the game. McCaffrey is also the first 49er on the cover since Garrison Hearst appeared on the international cover of Madden 99.
In a statement released by EA Sports, McCaffrey expressed his excitement at being on the cover of Madden NFL, calling it a career achievement. He credited his teammates, coaches, and 49er Faithful for helping him achieve this honor. McCaffrey led the league in various stats during the 2023-24 season, including scrimmage yards, rushing yards, and total touchdowns. He was traded to the 49ers from the Carolina Panthers in October 2022.
EA Sports Senior Production Director Mike Mahar highlighted McCaffrey’s popularity in last year’s game, with players scoring over 450 million touchdowns with him. McCaffrey recently signed a two-year, $38 million contract extension with the 49ers, making him the highest-paid running back in the league. After a successful 2023-24 season, where the 49ers went 12-5 and won the NFC title, McCaffrey and his team are gearing up for the upcoming season opener against the New York Jets on Sept. 9.
Madden 25 will launch on August 16 and will be available on various platforms including Xbox (X, S & One models), PlayStation (5, 4 models), and PC (EA app, Steam, Epic Games platforms). Fans of the game can look forward to playing with McCaffrey and the 49ers as they strive to make another run for the Super Bowl.