EA Sports released the cover of Madden NFL 23 and for the first time in forever it’s a choice everyone agrees with. Legendary coach, figure, and namesake of the brand John Madden will be featured.

Madden passed away on December 28, 2021 at the age of 85. The legendary Raiders’ coach helped revolutionize the game and his .759 win record remains one of the best of all time for an NFL coach. Madden was Sean McVay before Sean McVay, a 30-something wunderkind who took the league by storm during his 10 year coaching career, who then retired due to health concerns, before becoming one of the most legendary and iconic broadcasters of all time.

Madden NFL 23 marks the first time since 2000 that Madden himself has been on the cover. Starting with Madden NFL 2001 the series moved to the cover athlete system which has been in place for over 20 years. The full reveal is set to be announced on Thursday, however there are purported leaked images of the regular edition cover, which have been circulating for some time.

Should this be accurate, the iconic image from the 2023 cover comes from the Raiders’ 1977 win in the Super Bowl over the Minnesota Vikings. In addition to the photo comes a simple phrase “Thanks, coach” in memory of a man who gave so much to the game.

Bravo EA Sports for making the correct decision on the cover this year. Nobody else would have been right.