Madden NFL 23’s cover star is John Madden himself

Madden NFL 23’s cover star is … John Madden himself.

The Hall of Fame coach, broadcaster, and namesake of EA Sports’ longest-running series died Dec. 28, 2021, at 85. Madden NFL 23 Three covers will be remembered him, each representing his legacies to television and the NFL.

“There are so many ways that we’re trying to live up to, aspire to, the legend that Coach Madden was, in our game this year,” Mike Mahar, EA Tiburon’s senior producer for the Madden NFL series, told media last week at a preview event and cover reveal for the forthcoming game.

The “interactive first experience” of Madden NFL 23 — playable as the game is installing — will pit two generations of All-Madden NFL stars against each other, both sides coached by Madden as he appeared in different periods of his career. This game will be played at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in throwback to 1969, when Madden led Oakland Raiders’ to a record of 103-32-7 from 1969 to 1978.

On one cover, Madden is at the Rose Bowl celebrating his Oakland Raiders’ 32-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI. In the second, he is wearing a broadcaster’s headset and scribbling pass patterns on the viewer’s screen; Madden was an analyst for all four over-the-air networks that aired NFL games from 1979 to 2008.

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  Photo: Electronic Arts
  

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  Photo: Electronic Arts
  

Madden NFL 23’s All Madden Edition cover is a tribute to the cover of the first Madden title, John Madden Football, Electronic Arts, 1988. In the adaptation by Philadelphia artist Chuck Styles, Madden bursts through a playbook full of X’s and O’s, like pro football’s Kool-Aid Man.

Electronic Arts

“A pervasive theme this year is living up to the standard and the passion that Coach had for authentic, 11 v. 11 football,” Mahar said. Madden famously refused Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins’ first pitch to do a football video game, in 1984, unless it would put two teams of 11 players on the field — something that video games had yet to deliver at that time. EA released the first football video game in 1984, with Mike Ybarra as producer and Robin Antonick as developer. John Madden Football The Apple II.

John Madden last appeared on the main edition cover of Madden NFL with 1999’s Madden NFL 2000. (He appeared on the cover Madden NFL 07’s Hall of Fame edition.) Madden was the face or co-owner of 14 first games Electronic Arts published in his honor. EA Sports established the tradition of selecting a new NFL star each year in 2000. Barry Sanders is the only star with multiple covers other than Madden.Madden NFL 2000 Madden NFL 25(), Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes and Patrick Mahomes who co-starred in the film Madden NFL 22 Last year, after being featured on the covers Madden NFL 18 Madden NFL 20, respectively.

Madden NFL 23 is expected to launch in August, before the beginning of the NFL’s regular season, on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles.