When EA Sports announced Wednesday that John Madden would grace the cover of this year's Madden NFL 23, it generated a lot of excitement from NFL fans on social media.
The legendary coach will be featured on the game’s cover for the first time since Madden 2000, which was released in 1999.
This year’s edition will include three different Madden NFL 23 covers honoring the different segments of his life that include him as a coach, a broadcaster and one that showcases Madden in a mosaic form.
The iconic game, originally named John Madden Football, initially launched 34 years ago in June 1988. It has since sold more than 150 million copies.
Madden coached for 10 seasons in the NFL, recording 103 wins with the Raiders, posting a .759 winning percentage and winning Super Bowl XI with the franchise in 1976.
He also won seven division titles and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
Madden, who died on December 28 at the age of 85, was also a three-time Emmy Award–winning broadcaster.
With Madden’s face on the cover of this year’s Madden NFL game, NFL gamers will be stoked for its release in August.
The full reveal is set to be announced on Thursday, however there are purported leaked images of the regular edition cover, which have been circulating for some time.
Should this be accurate, the iconic image from the 2023 cover comes from the Raiders’ 1977 win in the Super Bowl over the Minnesota Vikings.
In addition to the photo comes a simple phrase “Thanks, coach” in memory of a man who gave so much to the game.