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Christopher Boan has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
Eagles RB Saquon Barkley On Madden NFL 26 Cover: Trends For Video Game Stars
For the first time since Donovan McNabb in 2005, there will be a member of the Philadelphia Eagles organization on the cover of this year’s edition of the John Madden football video game series.
Running back Saquon Barkley, who is a one-man boost to Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl odds for repeating as champions, earned the honor this year as the cover star of Madden NFL 26. PennStakes.com looks back at how the past 10 cover athletes have fared year-over-year. We used approximate value figures from Pro-Football-Reference.com to come up with the differences.
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Madden Cover Athletes By Year
2026: Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles RB
- 2025 Stats: TBD
- 2024 Stats: 345 rushes, 2,005 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns/33 catches, 278 receiving yards, 2 touchdown catches [18 AV in 16 games played]
- Difference: TBD
2025: Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers RB
- 2024 Stats: 50 rushes, 202 yards, 0 touchdowns [2 AV in 4 games played]
- 2023 Stats: 272 rushes, 1,459 rushing yards, 14 touchdowns/67 catches, 564 receiving yards, 7 touchdown catches [18 AV in 16 games played]
- Difference: Minus-16 AV year over year
2024: Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills QB
- 2023 Stats: 385/579 (66.5%), 4,306 passing yards, 29 touchdowns (18 interceptions)/111 attempts, 524 rushing yards, 15 rushing touchdowns [18 AV in 17 games played]
- 2022 Stats: 359/567 (63.3%), 4,283 yards, 35 touchdowns (14 interceptions)/124 attempts, 762 rushing yards, 7 rushing touchdowns [20 AV in 16 games played]
- Difference: Minus-2 AV year over year
2023: John Madden (No Stats)
2022: Tom Brady & Patrick Mahomes, Bucs & Chiefs QBs
- 2021 Stats:
- Brady: 485/719 (67.5%), 5,316 yards, 43 touchdowns (12 interceptions)/28 attempts, 81 yards, 2 touchdowns [16 AV in 17 games played]
- Mahomes: 436/658 (66.3%), 4,839 yards, 37 touchdowns (13 interceptions)/66 attempts, 381 yards, 2 touchdowns [18 AV in 17 games played]
- 2020 Stats:
- Brady: 401/610 (65.7%), 4,633 yards, 40 touchdowns (12 interceptions)/30 attempts, 6 yards, 3 touchdowns [15 AV in 16 games played]
- Mahomes: 390/588 (66.3%), 4,740 yards, 38 touchdowns (6 interceptions)/62 rushes, 308 yards, 2 touchdowns [17 AV in 15 games played]
- Difference:
- Brady: Plus-1 AV year over year; Mahomes: Plus-1 AV year over year
2021: Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens QB
- 2020 Stats: 242/376 (64.4%), 2,757 yards, 26 touchdowns (9 interceptions)/159 attempts, 1,005 yards, 7 touchdowns [18 AV in 15 games played]
- 2019 Stats: 265/401 (66.1%), 3,127 yards, 36 touchdowns (9 interceptions)/176 attempts, 1,206 yards, 7 touchdowns [25 AV in 15 games played]
- Difference: Minus-7 AV year over year
2020: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs QB
- 2019 Stats: 319/484 (65.9%), 4,031 yards, 26 touchdowns (5 interceptions)/43 attempts, 218 yards, 2 touchdowns [17 AV in 14 games played]
- 2018 Stats: 383/580 (66.0%), 5,097 yards, 50 touchdowns (12 interceptions)/60 attempts, 272 yards, 2 touchdowns [22 AV in 16 games played]
- Difference: Minus-5 AV year over year
2019: Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers WR
- 2018 Stats: 104 receptions, 1,297 yards, 15 touchdowns [10 AV in 15 games played]
- 2017 Stats: 101 receptions, 1,533 yards, 9 touchdowns [14 AV in 14 games played]
- Difference: Minus-4 AV year over year
2018: Tom Brady, New England Patriots QB
- 2017 Stats: 385/581 (66.3%), 4,577 yards, 32 touchdowns (8 interceptions)/28 carries, 64 yards, 0 touchdowns [20 AV in 16 games played]
- 2016 Stats: 291/432 (67.4%), 3,554 yards, 28 touchdowns (2 interceptions)/25 carries, 28 yards, 0 touchdowns [13 AV in 12 games played]
- Difference: Plus-7 AV year over year
2017: Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots TE
- 2016 Stats: 25 catches, 540 yards, 3 touchdowns [5 AV in 8 games played]
- 2015 Stats: 72 catches, 1,176 yards, 11 touchdowns [12 AV in 15 games played]
- Difference: Minus-7 AV year over year
2016: Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants WR
- 2015 Stats: 96 catches, 1,450 yards, 13 touchdowns [13 AV in 15 games played]
- 2014 Stats: 91 catches, 1,305 yards, 12 touchdowns [11 AV in 12 games played]
- Difference: Plus-2 AV year over year
2015: Richard Sherman, Seattle Seahawks CB
- 2014 Stats: 4 interceptions, 0 TD, 8 pass deflections, 0 fumbles, 57 tackles, 2 TFL [18 AV in 16 games played]
- 2013 Stats: 8 interceptions, 1 TD, 16 pass deflections, 2 fumbles, 48 tackles, 1 QB hit [21 AV in 16 games played]
- Difference: Minus-3 AV year over year
Totals: -33 AV overall and -3.3 AV average over the last 10 years
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Madden NFL 26 Release Date
Madden NFL 26, the latest installation of the popular video game franchise from EA Sports, is set to be released on Aug. 14, according to information on the company’s website. Many customers at Pennsylvania sports betting sites grew up playing the Madden series – or still play it today.
The numbers above reflect performance in the season following their appearance on the cover. If you’re confused by the years, remember: The game year is one ahead of the calendar year – so Barkley is on the cover of Madden NFL 26 ahead of the 2025-26 season.
As the next season approaches, PennStakes.com will keep bringing you NFL analysis as well as the best PA sportsbook promo codes.
How Will Saquon Barkley Perform in 2025?
The average trend over the past decade has been a net negative one for Madden cover athletes, with seven of the 10 losing AV ground year-over-year. But that’s not to say that Barkley, the veteran running back who had a spectacular first season as a member of the Eagles in 2024-25, is doomed to fail this NFL season.
You can keep track of his progress as well as odds on his team with our Philadelphia Eagles betting page at PennStakes.com.
Four of the past 11 athletes to grace the game’s cover since 2015 have seen their AV rise in the season afterward. Barkley’s former teammate with the New York Giants, Odell Beckham (+2 AV year-over-year) was one of them. So were quarterbacks Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes in the season after they shared the cover of Madden NFL 21. Brady also had a better AV (+7) after he was on the cover going into the 2017 season.
So don’t be too thrown off by the so-called “Madden curse” when you place futures wagers on the 2025-26 NFL season with Pennsylvania sportsbook apps.
This year, the number that Barkley will look to fly over is 18, as that was his AV total in 16 games played for the Super Bowl champs during the 2024-25 campaign. In his seventh NFL season but first in Philadelphia, Barkley racked up 2,005 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground, accomplishing career highs across the board. He led the league in rushing and was named Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year.
What we know for now is that oddsmakers from DraftKings Sportsbook Pennsylvania are giving Barkley a preseason rushing yardage over/under figure of 1500.5 and 11.5 O/U for touchdowns. The operator, as of June 3, has -110 odds on both ends of both wagers for the upcoming NFL season.
USA Today photo by Mark J. Rebilas
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