It's the first member of the Madden 99 Club for the Eagles in 20 years
Madden NFL 26
(Credit: EA)
⭐️ EA Sports has unveiled the cover star for their upcoming Madden NFL 26
🦅 It's Saquon Barkley, running back for the Philadelphia Eagles
😮 He also becomes the first 99 Club member for the Eagles in 20 years, and is their first offensive player to make it in
📆 The game will be released on August 14 for Xbox, PlayStation, PC and Switch 2
EA Sports has unveiled Madden NFL 26's cover star for the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC game.
Want the latest gaming news without any ads? 👍 The Shortcut has 154,000 subscribers and is the #1 consumer tech publication on Substack. We’re supported by you, so subscribe now to keep us ad-free and to receive our newsletter ⤵️
Philadelphia Eagles' running back Saquon Barkley gets to grace this year's front cover, along with his legendary reverse hurdle move.
Alongside this, Barkley has also been named the latest member of Madden's 99 Club – players who have the elusive 99 rating – the first for an Eagles offensive player, and the first for the team in 20 years since kicker David Akers in Madden 06, and previously safety Brian Dawkins in Madden 04.
Pre-order Madden NFL 26 from Walmart
Pre-order Madden NFL 26 from Best Buy
Pre-order Madden NFL 26 from GameStop
Pre-order Madden NFL 26 from Amazon
In anEA press release, Barkley was quoted as saying: “Starring on the cover of Madden NFL 26 and being named to the Madden NFL ‘99 Club’ are both dreams come true. 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.”
Barkley is the reigning Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year, and broke the record for rushes in a single season with 2,504 yards over the regular season and postseason, while also leading the Eagles to victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
Evan Dexter, EA Sports' vice president for franchise strategy and marketing for the Madden NFL series, stated that 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 video game”.
In addition, Dexter noted that "Now, it's a display of the athleticism and creativity of one of 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.”
Madden NFL 26 is available to pre-order now, and will be released on August 14 for Xbox, PlayStation, PC and**Nintendo Switch 2**. The game's Deluxe Edition gets you three days of early access and 4,600 Madden Points alongside a host of in-game items, while the MVP Bundle gets you deluxe editions of both Madden and EA Sports College Football 26 and a host of upgrades.
Up next:Sony rivals Nintendo Switch 2 launch with State of Play featuring 'must-have' PS5 games
Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.