San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey's exciting offseason continues. On Tuesday, a week after putting pen to paper on a two-year extension with the red and gold, the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year was unveiled as the Madden 25 cover athlete. He is the first player from the 49ers organization to be featured on the cover of the popular Electronic Arts video game since Garrison Hearst was on the international cover in 1999.
The trailer for Madden NFL 25 drops on June 13, and the official release date for the game is August 16.
McCaffrey joins an exclusive club of iconic NFL players that have graced the cover of Madden, beginning in 2001 with running back Eddie George. The first iteration of the game was launched in 1988, and Hall of Fame head coach and sports broadcaster John Madden was the cover personality featured on the 80s, 90s and 2000 editions of Madden.
Below is a full list of the cover athletes through the years, per NFL.com:
| Year | Cover Athlete |
|---|---|
| 2001 | Eddie George |
| 2002 | Daunte Culpepper |
| 2003 | Marshall Faulk |
| 2004 | Michael Vick |
| 2005 | Ray Lewis |
| 2006 | Donovan McNabb |
| 2007 | Shaun Alexander |
| 2008 | Vince Young |
| 2009 | Brett Favre |
| 2010 | Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald |
| 2011 | Drew Brees |
| 2012 | Peyton Hillis |
| 2013 | Calvin Johnson |
| 2014 | Barry Sanders/Adrian Peterson (two versions) |
| 2015 | Richard Sherman |
| 2016 | Odell Beckham Jr. |
| 2017 | Rob Gronkowski |
| 2018 | Tom Brady |
| 2019 | Antonio Brown |
| 2020 | Patrick Mahomes |
| 2021 | Lamar Jackson |
| 2022 | Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes |
| 2023 | Josh Allen |
| 2024 | Christian McCaffrey |
The OPOY is set to enter his ninth season in the league and his third with the 49ers since being traded in Week 7 of the 2022 campaign. McCaffrey is coming off the best statistical season of his career which included OPOY honors, a unanimous First-Team All-Pro selection and his fifth Pro Bowl nod.
With his top-tier production level in 2023, McCaffrey cemented himself into the league's history books. He closed out the season as the NFL rushing yards leader (1,459), the league rushing touchdowns leader (14), the scrimmage triple-crown title holder (leader in touches, yards and touchdowns) and eclipsed the 2,000-yard scrimmage yards mark for the second time in his career. McCaffrey is just the third player in NFL history to record 2,000-or-more yards with two different franchises, joining the likes of Hall of Fame running backs Eric Dickerson (Los Angeles Rams and Indianapolis Colts) and Marshall Faulk (St. Louis Rams and Colts).
