49ers’ Christian McCaffrey Gets RBs Some Shine as EA Sports’ Madden 25 Cover Athlete

The San Francisco running back joined rarefied air this summer.

Christian McCaffrey is the first running back to appear on the cover of Madden in over 10 years. / EA Sports

San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey will be the cover athlete for Madden 25, EA Sports announced on Tuesday.

McCaffrey is the first running back to be featured on the Madden cover in over a decade. As far as running backs go, the last to appear on the cover was 2013, when Adrian Peterson appeared on the cover for legacy consoles and retired legend Barry Sanders appeared on the cover for next-gen systems for the 25th anniversary of the game.

In addition to being the first running back in over a decade, he's also the first 49er on the cover since Garrison Hearst graced the international cover of Madden 99. McCaffrey is the first Niner to appear on the worldwide cover of Madden NFL.

“To be on the cover of Madden NFL is a career achievement and an honor I share with all of my teammates, coaches and 49er Faithful who have helped make it possible,” said McCaffrey via an EA Sports press release. “I'm pumped to get back on the field this year to give Madden players more reasons to keep scoring touchdowns with me in Madden NFL 25.”

The reigning Offensive Player of the Year led the league with 2,023 scrimmage yards, 1,459 rushing yards and 21 total touchdowns during the 2023-24 season. McCaffrey, a No. 8 pick by the Carolina Panthers in the 2017 NFL draft, was traded to San Francisco in October 2022.

There's good reason for him to grace the cover, as EA Sports Senior Production Director Mike Mahar shared that he was the most popular running back in last year's iteration of the game, with players scoring, "more than 450 million touchdowns with him last year."

Earlier this offseason, the 28-year-old McCaffrey agreed to a two-year, $38 million contract extension with the 49ers, retaining his spot as the highest-paid running back in the league.

After San Francisco went 12-5 in the regular season and clinched its eighth NFC title last year, McCaffrey and the 49ers will look to return to the Super Bowl starting with their 2024-25 season opener on Sept. 9 against the New York Jets.

The game will launch August 16 and be available on Xbox (X, S & One models), PlayStation (5, and 4 models) and PC (EA app, Steam, Epic Games platforms).