Many football fans and gamers have a collection of Madden NFL boxes on a shelf at home, but with a series spanning over 25 years of annual releases, it's quite the feat to possess the entire line-up -- not to speak of the financial investment to get such a full set.
Fortunately, a physical collection isn't required for a nostalgic trip down memory lane. After all, a digital photo album does the trick just as well.
That is why we've assembled the Madden NFL franchise's cover stars since the year 2000 below.
Madden NFL 2000 - John Madden
John Madden starred on the series' cover throughout the 1990s, but Madden NFL 2000 marked his final appearance on the box art during his lifetime -- it was time for the athletes to venture into the spotlight. The game itself was a fine addition to the series, bringing very much needed improvements to Franchise Mode.
Madden NFL 2001 - Eddie George
The Tennessee Titans' Eddie George stepped into John Madden's massive shoes, marking the series' jump onto PS2. Madden NFL 2001 was also the first game of the franchise to include teams from Europe, so there's a fact for your next trivia night.
Madden NFL 2002 - Dante Culpepper
The Minnesota Vikings' quarterback earned his spot on the cover with mighty performances in the preceding years, thereby presiding over yet another hardware jump: Madden NFL 2002 was the first game of the series to appear on Xbox and GameCube.
Madden NFL 2003 - Marshall Faulk
The Greatest Show on Turf was long overdue for an appearance on the series' cover. Alongside Faulk, Madden NFL 2003 contained another significant debut: Al Michaels joined John Madden as the play-by-play commentator for the first time.
Madden NFL 2004 - Michael Vick
Vick was more than a mere cover star in Madden NFL 2004 -- he was practically a cheat code. His Speed of 95 made him impossible to catch for any other athlete in the game and following series entries had to nerf him to make things competitive again. Honestly, that's partly why the title is the best Madden NFL game to date: The shenanigans were simply too good.
Madden NFL 2005 - Ray Lewis
Madden NFL 2005 was set to bring a major overhaul to defensive gameplay, so featuring Lewis on the cover was essentially a statement by the developers - a technique they'd repeat over the years. This entry introduced the Hit Stick, brought a fantastic iteration of the Franchise Mode to the table, and is generally regarded as one of the best games in the series, just behind its immediate predecessor. It was a golden age for Madden.
Madden NFL 06 - Donovan McNabb
Previous titles still featured small stickers with John Madden's face and signature on their covers, but Madden NFL 06 marked a departure from even that - only the franchise title reminded people of its origins. McNabb presided over the debut of Superstar Mode and a graphical revolution, as this entry was the first to be available on Xbox 360. It looked good, although it was a technical dumpster fire.
Madden NFL 07 - Shaun Alexander
Shaun Alexander inherited a faulty Xbox 360 version from McNabb, but he got to be the first man on the cover for the brand-new PS3 and Nintendo Wii versions. Madden NFL 07 also included the introduction of control staples like the Lead Blocker Control and the Highlight Stick.
Madden NFL 08 - Vince Young
Vince Young earned the spot on the Madden NFL 08 cover with a standout performance in the preceding season and EA Sports put a cherry on top of the achievement by adding substantial improvements to the animation system - stars like Young suddenly felt super unique to play.
Madden NFL 09 - Brett Favre
Favre was the first inactive player to appear on the cover outside of John Madden himself, as he had already retired when the game was announced. His comeback with the Jets a little later isn't changing this great bit of trivia.
Madden NFL 10 - Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald
Following their mighty efforts in the preceding Super Bowl, Polamalu and Fitzgerald got to share the limelight with each other on Madden NFL 10's cover. Crucially for the franchise, this entry is where Madden Ultimate Team (MUT) made its first appearance.
Madden NFL 11 - Drew Brees
Drew Brees finally got a Super Bowl victory under his belt in the 2010 season, so landing on the cover of Madden NFL 2011 must have seemed like the perfect thing to round out this stage of his career. In terms of gameplay, the title introduced the GameFlow system to improve the pace of matches and allow players to build situational game plans.
Madden NFL 12 - Peyton Hillis
Madden NFL 12's cover is a bit special, as it was decided through a fan vote. Hillis managed to beat Michael Vick for the spot - one may imagine that a few people remembering the Madden NFL 2004 days voted against Vick to deal with the trauma his virtual self inflicted on them.
Madden NFL 13 - Calvin Johnson Jr.
It worked well in the previous year, so EA Sports brought back the fan vote for another cover. In this one, Johnson Jr. overcame more than sixty rivals to win the spot, getting to preside over the debut of the customizable Connected Careers mode.
Madden NFL 25 (2014) - Adrian Peterson/Barry Sanders
Well, this was a bit short-sighted, EA Sports, wasn't it? The first Madden NFL 25 came out in 2014 and was named this way to celebrate the series' 25th anniversary. Fittingly, this marked the jump of the game to Xbox One and PS4 with Adrian Peterson on the cover. However, the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game got their own cover star this time around, the honors going to Barry Sanders.
Madden NFL 15 - Richard Sherman
Sherman was the ambassador for yet another defensively oriented entry into the series, as Madden NFL 15 focused on improvements to pass-rushing, tackling and player AI. Luckily, things went back to normal in terms of naming for this iteration.
Madden NFL 16 - Odell Beckham Jr.
EA Sports had a bit of a thing for fan votes in the 2010s, so here came Odell Beckham Jr. with a victory over Rob Gronkowski for the spot in the sun. Madden NFL 16's biggest innovation was a gateway drug to MUT, namely a mode called Draft Champions - in general, though, EA Sports got a little complacent in this period.
Madden NFL 17 - Rob Gronkowski
Gronkowski finally got his time to shine with Madden NFL 17, the previous year's vote be damned. This entry had some very divisive Franchise Mode overhauls in store.
Madden NFL 18 - Tom Brady
This took him a while, eh? Tom Brady's appearance on the box coincided with an engine switch: EA Sports started using the Frostbite Engine, bringing the visual fidelity of the Battlefield games to Madden NFL 18.
Madden NFL 19 - Antonio Brown
EA got a little more creative with the covers around this time, ditching the shots of the pitch and stadiums for some more color. Antonio Brown certainly deserved being highlighted this way, having become one of the strongest wide receivers over the previous years. Madden NFL 19 is significant for another reason: It marked the series' return to PC.
Madden NFL 20 - Patrick Mahomes
Madden NFL 20 experimented with a different single-player experience and added X-Factors, which made star players even more like their real-life counterparts in both visuals and controls. Naturally, Patrick Mahomes was the perfect ambassador for that.
Madden NFL 21 - Lamar Jackson
Madden NFL 21 featured the dynamic Lamar Jackson on its cover and offered a fresh game mode in the form of The Yard, bringing some street-style elements into this entry. Not that this saved the game from scathing criticism by fans.
Madden NFL 22 - Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes
The reception of Madden NFL 21 was weak on all fronts, so EA Sports tried to pull itself together with improvements to Franchise Mode and the introduction of Face of the Franchise. It even got Brady and Mahomes to join forces on the cover - but to no avail. Madden NFL 22 fell short of the franchise's past glories.
Madden NFL 23 - John Madden
EA chose to bring John Madden himself back after his death in December 2021. A lovely tribute to the man whose legend still lives on - sadly, the game itself did not rise to the occasion in the same way.
Madden NFL 24 - Josh Allen
Josh Allen called his inclusion on the Madden NFL 24 cover the fulfillment of a childhood dream - and made Buffalo Bills history at the same time. The game came with a bunch of mechanical changes under the hood to allow for a more accurate representation of the athletes' skeletons, but fans and critics remained unconvinced of the overall package.
Madden NFL 25 - Christian McCaffrey
It was a very good off-season for Christian McCaffrey: Only days after he extended his lucrative contract with the 49ers, he was announced as the cover star of Madden NFL 25. He had already been a part of the exclusive 99 OVR club in the series, so this was merely the latest accolade added to his name. As for EA Sports' slump: That's still ongoing with users and critics alike being highly divided on the virtues and vices of the current iteration. To be continued.
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