Eagles star Saquon Barkley named cover athlete for Madden 26

The Philadelphia Eagles are coming off an incredible 2024 campaign in which the storied franchise won the Super Bowl and saw a new face of the franchise emerge in superstar running back Saquon Barkley.

Barkley resurrected his career with the Eagles while winning his first Super Bowl ring, and now he’s reached another milestone by being named the new cover athlete for Madden 26, via ESPN.

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and his legendary reverse hurdle will be featured on the cover of Madden NFL 26, EA Sports announced Monday.

Barkley also has been named to the Madden 99 Club — a first for an Eagles offensive player.

The veteran running back opened up about being the new cover athlete for Madden and what it means to him, as well as being proud of being in the exclusive Madden 99 Club.

“Starring on the cover of Madden NFL 26 and being named to the Madden NFL ’99 Club’ are both dreams come true,” Barkley said. “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.”

With a Super Bowl title in the books and the Eagles primed to make another run this year, it’ll be interesting to see if Barkley can help lead this team to a repeat. Philadelphia will likely be the favorite in the NFC heading into the 2025 NFL season, as this team checks a lot of boxes on both sides of the football.