Top 5 Madden Covers

The cover for Madden 24 just dropped with Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen and it definitely is NOT making my top 5 Madden covers list.

What happened to the shots from the players in games being put on the covers? Now I imagine Josh Allen had a day-long photoshoot just for this cover. LAME! Also, enough with the different cover for the “deluxe” edition too. It all seems like we’re trying a little too hard. I might not even buy this fucking game but I probably will.

Kind of a softball here from EA Sports. Josh Allen is one of the biggest faces of the NFL but I wouldn’t have minded going with a deep cut either. Maybe like a Micah Parsons? Or show the big boys love and put Trent Williams. Or better yet? Just put the best player in the NFL on there.

How This Is Gonna Go

So the cover is gonna be a big part of these rankings. Because I’m ranking the covers. BUT. This shit ain’t that easy. A few things will be going through my fat head when I’m thinking about the top 5 Madden covers. Things such as cover player, cover design, gameplay, game modes, and music. It’s really gonna go by how I feel about it. Because I’m making the list and I make the rules.

#5: Madden 2002

I mean…c’mon. Of course, I’m gonna put the one time a Viking was on the cover on the list. No other reason is needed. Daunte Culpepper was the fucking man back in the day. I used to just walk around school getting my roll on where ever I fucking pleased. I miss him and his gigantic facemask.

Graphics were fire too.

#4: Madden 2005

Ray Lewis goes HARD on the 2005 cover. He looks like he just killed a man and on his way to do it again. I defiantly have a hard on for that 2nd generation cover with the big circle Madden logo and all they change is the year and the player. Nostalgia is playing a much larger role in this than I initially anticipated.

Madden 2005 was also the year they introduced the “hit stick.” The original hit stick hit different too. You’d hit fuckers and it always seemed like their heads would fly back so quick they may fall off.

We also had an absolute jam on the soundtrack too:

#3: Madden 2003

I’m still on my 2nd gen logo bullshit it appears. Marshall Faulk was so sick back in the day. I remember the first couple years I played fantasy football he was the man to have. The St. Louis Rams weren’t called the greatest show on turf for no reason.

My favorite feature of 2003 was the introduction of minicamp. It was sick. You would travel around the country and just do drills and try to rack up high scores and trophies.

2003 also brought us an ABSOLUTE BANGER of a song. I still listen to this song. As should you.

#2: John Madden Football

Looks at this guy! Shit, looks like John could still be here. And look at that hair! God damn. I don’t think you can have a top 5 Madden covers blog without putting the OG in there. A pretty sweet cover for being from 1988.

Now the game wasn’t anything too special, but was the tits back in the day.

I’m not sure they really had soundtracks for video games back then, but I could only imagine that it was a series of beeps and bops to really allow the user to get the whole experience.

#1: Madden 2004

There is absolutely no arguing that this is the top of the top 5 Madden covers list. Michael Vick was not only nasty on the field but the NASTIEST Madden player in the history of the game. Those older Falcons uniforms were so sick too. This picture of Vick is perfect too. I’m assuming, running away from a Vikings defender to kill us in overtime. Remember that? I do.

He truly was unreal. He really was like a Tom Brady, Josh Allen, Daunte Culpepper, Tyreek Hill hybrid. He was so fucking fast. You could run towards the sideline and somehow beat out the defender and still cut upfield and then scamper for an 80-yard touchdown.

Also, Madden 2004 had an unbelievable soundtrack. Banger, after banger, after banger, after banger.