Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes Featured as 'Madden 22' Cover Athletes

EA Sports

A pair of future Hall of Famers will serve as the faces of EA Sports' Madden NFL 22 as Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes were announced as the franchise's latest cover athletes on Thursday.

Brady and Mahomes squared off on the gridiron in February, a 31–9 Buccaneers win in Super Bowl LV. Nowadays, though, there doesn't seem to be many hard feelings from Mahomes as he now shares the Madden stage with his Super Bowl rival. 

Madden NFL 22 marks the second time in three years that Mahomes has been featured on the game's cover. Kansas City's quarterback was also the cover athlete for Madden NFL 20, two years after Brady was featured on the cover of Madden NFL 18. Brady and Mahomes are the first athletes to be featured on the Madden cover twice.

Let's hope neither Brady nor Mahomes falls prey to the Madden curse during the 2021–22 season. Michael Vick suffered a season-ending injury after being featured in the Madden NFL 04 cover, and former Browns running back Peyton Hillis never ran for more than 600 yards in a season after starring in Madden NFL 12. 

Madden NFL 22 will mark the franchise's 34th installment dating back to 1988, when it was called John Madden Football. An offensive player has graced 10 of the last 11 covers dating back to 2011, with Richard Sherman serving as the lone defensive cover athlete.