Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley topped off his remarkable 2024-25 season by being named the cover athlete for EA Sports’ Madden NFL 26. Barkley joins former Philly quarterback Donovan McNabb as the only members of the Eagles to be featured as a cover athlete for the popular video game franchise.
Barkley had a record-breaking 2024-25 that saw him become the first player in NFL history to rush for over 2,500 yards in a single season, including the playoffs. His incredible output helped lift the Eagles to their second-ever Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Starring on the cover of Madden NFL 26 and being named to the Madden NFL 99 Club are both dreams come true,” Barkley said. “I’m grateful to my teammates, coaches, and Eagles fans for their support, and I can’t wait to hit the field again to give Madden players more highlight-reel moments in Madden NFL 26.”
.@Saquon hurdled his way onto the cover of #Madden26
Coming 8.14.25. Pre-Order Today.
🔗: https://t.co/zm14BbUaJf pic.twitter.com/l1QYWN0b7h
— Madden NFL 26 (@EAMaddenNFL) June 2, 2025
Barkley will be featured on two unique EA Sports Madden NFL 26 covers. The standard edition of the game depicts when Barkley successfully pulled off a reverse hurdle against the Jacksonville Jaguars last season. The Deluxe Edition cover shows Barkley looking over his shoulder at the holder of the game.
“Saquon’s reverse hurdle was one of the rare, defining moments in NFL history that would have once been described as ‘something out of a videogame,’” said Evan Dexter, the vice president of Franchise Strategy & Marketing for EA Sports’ Madden NFL. “Now, it’s a display of the athleticism and creativity of one football’s most electrifying athletes. Madden NFL 26 will deliver the most real NFL experience we’ve ever built so that players can experience more of the unreal moments that Saquon put on display all season long. The full reveal is this Wednesday – don’t miss what’s next.”
EA Sports’ Madden NFL 26 is scheduled to be released on August 14th, 2025. The game will be available on PCs, PlayStation 5s, the Xbox Series X|S, and the Nintendo Switch 2, but not on PlayStation 4s or Xbox Ones.
