Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady Co-Star on Madden 22 Cover

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is already making his return to the cover of Madden. This time, however, it's alongside a formidable foe.
EA Sports announced that the cover of Madden 22 will feature two "goats," Mahomes and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.
🐐 x 🐐
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 17, 2021
Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes are the cover athletes for #Madden22 https://t.co/Oi9ssZPaGk pic.twitter.com/EFuW0jkFQu
Shortly after the cover was released, Mahomes tweeted the cover and some other promotional images, adding "what a time." The #Madden22 hashtag is now followed by an emoji-sized picture of Mahomes and Brady.
what a time. ⏰ #Madden22 pic.twitter.com/BpupuKB4e3
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) June 17, 2021
This cover comes just a few months removed from Mahomes's Super Bowl showdown with Brady which ended in a Buccaneers victory, marking the second time in three years that Brady's team ended Mahomes's season, after the New England Patriots defeated Mahomes's Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game to end their 2018 season.
Immediately after the Super Bowl, Mahomes and Brady exchanged words on the field and promised to keep in touch after the season.
Patrick Mahomes had some high praise for Tom Brady after the Buccaneers cruised to victory in Super Bowl LV: https://t.co/vRtnod1Xyq
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 9, 2021
(via @NFLFilms) pic.twitter.com/sQS5WBwPQO
It's now evident that the two collaborated at least once in April, likely shooting the new cover earlier this year.
The Madden 22 cover is probably going to be Mahomes and Brady btw. This was leaked back in April, it's a photo of them shooting a commercial for Madden in Tampa pic.twitter.com/0qlMm69LER
— Robert Rimpson+ (@Rimpsanity) June 14, 2021
Mahomes and Brady both starred on Madden covers in years past, with Brady on the cover of Madden 18 and Mahomes on Madden 20, making them the first two players to hold featured spots on multiple editions of Madden. (Barry Sanders was in the background of Madden 2000 before again appearing on Madden 25. There's some room for second-guessing with various editions of games across console generations, but Mahomes and Brady are the first to get the true cover-athlete treatment twice.)
Breaking: Patrick Mahomes is @EAMaddenNFL's cover athlete for Madden 20 https://t.co/iD3cn7Wr0M pic.twitter.com/8VHakdUD51
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 25, 2019
This is also the first time Madden has chosen to have two players share the spotlight since Madden 10 when Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald co-starred on the cover.
Now, at age 26, Mahomes has two Madden covers to accentuate an already-growing trophy case.
According to Polygon, Madden 22 is set to bring some sizable tweaks in the franchise's latest iteration, including an improved franchise mode and a recognizable homefield advantage system — which should provide a fun boost to anyone playing as the home team in Arrowhead Stadium.
Read More: Trey Smith's Progress Could Accelerate Chiefs' Youth Movement Along Offensive Line

Joshua Brisco is the editor and publisher of Kansas City Chiefs On SI and has covered the Chiefs professionally since 2017 across audio and written media.
Follow jbbrisco