Madden NFL 23 Leak Reveals John Madden as Possible Cover Star

EA may be planning to dedicate Madden NFL 23 to the titular legend himself, John Madden. The Madden series has been going strong for several decades and has managed to outlast any potential competitors. The series has tried to remain as realistic as possible since its inception due to the insistence of John Madden himself, but his involvement in the series lessened over time. Sadly, the iconic coach and commentator died in December 2021 at the age of 85. His cause of death has never been revealed to the public, but it was a tragic loss not just for the football community, but the sports world at large.

It seems this has not been lost on EA as it appears the game will feature some kind of tribute to John Madden. Twitter user allgames spotted an advertisement for Madden NFL 23 which appears to reveal John Madden as the game’s cover star. The cover features a black and white picture of John Madden on the sidelines with the game’s logo and the year he was born and the year he passed away. Sports games sometimes have variant covers based on the edition players purchase, so it’s currently unclear whether or not John Madden would be on the standard version of the game or reserved for a premium edition. With that said, things get a little weird because the same cover was conceptualized online earlier this year. Reddit user gregor630 posted the cover art five months ago on the Madden subreddit. It’s possible EA liked the design and asked for permission to use it or this is all a hoax and someone bought physical ad space for a fake cover art, though that would be a rather elaborate plan. Only time will tell, but for now, take it with a grain of salt.

This is the second possible Madden NFL 23 leak to happen this year and the game still hasn’t been officially announced, but the series has released annually for many years, so fans can likely expect another one sometime this fall. The Madden series has featured a number of athletes such as Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, and many other icons on the cover over the years. A number of athletes have been hurt or had poor seasons following being put on the cover, leading fans to believe in the “Madden curse”. Patrick Mahomes went on to disprove the curse by winning the Super Bowl within the same season that he appeared on the cover of Madden NFL 20. John Madden himself has not graced a cover of the game since Madden NFL 2000.

Will you be picking up Madden NFL 23 this year? Let me know in the comments below or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.