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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.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 yearMadden 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 Titans2002: Daunte Culpepper, QB, Minnesota Vikings2003: Marshall Faulk, RB, St. Louis Rams2004: Michael Vick, QB, Atlanta Falcons2005: Ray Lewis, LB, Baltimore Ravens2006: Donovan McNabb, QB, Philadelphia Eagles2007: Shaun Alexander, RB, Seattle Seahawks2008: Vince Young, QB, Tennessee Titans2009: Brett Favre, QB, Green Bay Packers2010: Troy Polamalu, S, Pittsburgh Steelers and Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals2011: Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints2012: Peyton Hillis, RB, Cleveland Browns2013: Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions2014: Barry Sanders, RB, Detroit Lions2014: Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings2015: Richard Sherman, CB, Seattle Seahawks2016: Odell Beckham Jr., WR, New York Giants2017: Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots2018: Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots2019: Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers2020: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs2021: Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens2022: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs and Tom Brady, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers2023: John Madden, Pro Football Hall of Fame coach2024: Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills2025: Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers2026: Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
