Barkley’s reverse hurdle took the football world by storm in 2024, a standout moment in a legendary 2,000-yard, title-winning season for the Penn State product. It was so significant, EA Sports found a way to give players the ability to pull off Barkley’s physics-defying move on Madden NFL 25‘s virtual gridiron within a week.
With this piece of football history in mind, the pairing couldn’t possibly make more sense for EA.
“Saquon’s reverse hurdle was one of the rare, defining moments in NFL history that would have once been described as ‘something out of a video game,’ ” said Evan Dexter, vice president of franchise strategy and marketing for EA Sports Madden NFL, in a statement. “Now, it’s a display of the athleticism and creativity of one of football’s most electrifying athletes. Madden NFL 26 will deliver the most real NFL experience we’ve ever built so that players can experience more of the unreal moments that Saquon put on display all season long.”
Barkley, who was also announced as a member of the Madden 99 Club, becomes the second running back to grace the cover in as many years, following in the footsteps of another NFC superstar, 49ers runner and Madden NFL 25 cover athlete Christian McCaffrey. After going without a running back on the cover from 2014-2023, the consecutive selections of McCaffrey and Barkley represent the NFL’s justifiable prioritization of top-tier running backs.
At EA’s preview event in Orlando, Florida, last week, development team members were exceptionally excited to show off all of the new features coming to the latest addition to the legendary football simulation series. Barkley’s involvement is merely the beginning of what aims to be a significant entry for Madden NFL.
