{"id":60120,"date":"2025-06-03T01:11:30","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T00:11:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?p=60120"},"modified":"2025-06-03T01:14:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T00:14:10","slug":"shaun-alexanders-madden-nfl-26-cover-pick-comes-true-with-saquon-barkley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/shaun-alexanders-madden-nfl-26-cover-pick-comes-true-with-saquon-barkley\/","title":{"rendered":"Shaun Alexander&#8217;s Madden NFL 26 Cover Pick Comes True with Saquon Barkley"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>EA&rsquo;s Madden 26 is right around the corner and will be released worldwide on August 14, 2025. As each installment brings, people have been wondering about who&rsquo;s going to be on the cover for the NFL&rsquo;s official video game. Some of the top prospects includes Saquon Barkley who had arguably the greatest season for a running back we&rsquo;ve seen in recent years, Justin Jefferson who had a great season in 2024, and many others. The video game itself promises to be the best the fans have ever experienced with various features including; next-level coaching, QB authenticity, and explosive gameplay. While many fans complain that the game has been stagnant for years, EA also has plans to drop College Football 26 on July 10, which will be released on PS5 and XBOX Series X. <\/p><p>The game will has a ton of hype and while we eagerly wait for the release of Madden and College Football 26 and of course the new NFL season, a lot of questions have been raised about who should on be the Madden 26&rsquo;s cover. While many have weighed in their opinions, a former talented running back, Shaun Alexander, gave his take on who should grace the cover for this year&rsquo;s edition. <\/p><p>Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/nfls-highest-paid-players-in-2025-according-to-each-position\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'><strong>NFL&rsquo;s Highest-Paid Players in 2025- According to Each Position<\/strong><\/a><\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Shaun Alexander Reveals His Choice for the Next EA Sports Madden NFL Cover Athlete<\/h2><p>Shaun Alexander delivered some of the best NFL running back seasons we have ever seen in 2005. He earned 112 career touchdowns and placed ninth for rushing touchdowns, while also becoming one of the few non quarterbacks to win an MVP award. While he had a remarkable career in the NFL, surprisingly he has still not been selected as a member of the Hall of Fame, which still makes many fans question the NFL. He is only an MVP but is also the Seattle Seahawks&rsquo; only MVP winner ever. Despite Alexander being one of the running backs to ever play in the NFL, we still believe that he is heavily underrated even to this day. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Man Shaun Alexander was and still is so under appreciated by <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Seahawks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>#Seahawks<\/a> fans <br><br> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HLFYI5d9bv\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/HLFYI5d9bv<\/a><\/p>&mdash; George Jarjour (@GeorgeOnTap) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GeorgeOnTap\/status\/1682812482677506048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>July 22, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>Shaun Alexander believed that Saquon Barkley should be on the cover of Madden 26. Alexander was the on the cover of Madden 07 and who better to ask than the man who&rsquo;s already graced the cover. When asked who he thought deserved to be on the cover of Madden 26, Alexander said, <strong><em>&ldquo;I think Saquon did it all. You get an opportunity like that, you should take it. Everbody&rsquo;s like &lsquo;what about the Madden curse?&rsquo; I&rsquo;m like &lsquo;You know there&rsquo;s 32 teams, between running back and quarterbacks there&rsquo;s 64 players, 50 of them are going to get hurt. You know, you just know the truth. 50 guys are not going to play in every game. So if that&rsquo;s the case what do you do? You just play the game. So I&rsquo;m like man don&rsquo;t worry about any of the curses. Go ball. It is one of the greatest honors that you&rsquo;ll have<\/em><\/strong>,&rdquo; he said on the <strong>Up and Adams Show<\/strong>, hosted by Kay Adams <\/p><blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DKAkssHxF58\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DKAkssHxF58\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewbox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DKAkssHxF58\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>A post shared by Up &amp; Adams (@upandadamsshow)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Face of Madden 26 Has Been Revealed!<\/h2><p>Shaun Alexander&rsquo;s wishes have come true and EA announced earlier that the face of this year&rsquo;s Madden 26 will be none other than Saquon Barkley. Barkley had an incredible season last year, crossed the 2000 plus rushing yards threshold, won the Super Bowl trophy, and had a jaw dropping highlight last season, performing a reverse hurdle during a regular season game. EA noticed that play, and recently asked Barkley to recreate the iconic play for the Cover. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Saquon hit his iconic reverse hurdle for the Madden cover &#129327; <br><br>(via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/saquon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>@saquon<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NFL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>@NFL<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EAMaddenNFL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>@EAMaddenNFL<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ari_fararooy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>@ari_fararooy<\/a>) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/yjfpfsfNvv\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/yjfpfsfNvv<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BleacherReport\/status\/1929585088389419096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>June 2, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/when-does-nfl-training-camp-start-nfl-training-camp-2025\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'><strong>When Does NFL Training Camp Start? NFL Training Camp 2025 Start Date, Locations and More<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"mm-layout mm-layout-type-post mm-layout-slot4\">\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>EA&rsquo;s Madden 26 is right around the corner and will be released worldwide on August 14, 2025. As each installment brings, people have been wondering about who&rsquo;s going to be on the cover for the NFL&rsquo;s official video game. Some of the top prospects includes Saquon Barkley who had arguably the greatest season for a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":60122,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mux_skip_reasons":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7180,82,799,7402],"class_list":["post-60120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl","tag-madden-26","tag-nfl","tag-saquon-barkley","tag-shaun-alexander"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Shaun Alexander&#039;s Madden NFL 26 Cover Pick Comes True with Saquon Barkley - The Playoffs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"NFL legend Shaun Alexander shares his pick for the next EA Sports Madden NFL cover athlete, and his wishes recently came true!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/shaun-alexanders-madden-nfl-26-cover-pick-comes-true-with-saquon-barkley\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shaun Alexander&#039;s Madden NFL 26 Cover Pick Comes True with Saquon Barkley - 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