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Eagles Have One Question After Saquon Barkley Named Madden Cover Player

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nate Lunak | Last updated Jun 2, 2025 12:54 PM ET

Throughout the 2024 regular season, the Philadelphia Eagles had one of the most explosive offenses, finishing the year ranked seventh in points per game (27.2) and eighth in total yards per game (367.2).

Of course, football is a team sport, but there's no doubt that much of their success was because of running back Saquon Barkley, who was eventually named the Offensive Player of the Year and finished third in MVP voting.

After helping his team win the Super Bowl, his performance on the field was impossible to ignore and on Monday, EA Sports revealed that Barkley was named the cover athlete for Madden NFL 26, set to release on Aug. 14.

The big announcement eventually drew a reaction from the Eagles, who asked, "Who else but @saquon?" via a social media post.

Who else but @saquon? https://t.co/E9yeL22SJn
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) June 2, 2025

It's a valid question, and after finishing the regular season with 2,005 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns and 33 receptions for two touchdowns, it would be hard to find a good answer.

Of course, those impressive numbers also led him to earn a two-year, $41.2 million extension with the Eagles, which makes him the highest-paid running back in NFL history in yearly salary ($20.6 million), per Spotrac.

This is also the second straight year that a running back has been featured as the video game's cover athlete, as San Francisco 49ers' Christian McCaffrey earned the honors for Madden NFL 25.

Now, it will remain to be seen if Barkley and the Eagles can continue being dominant and live up to the hype in 2025, as ESPN BET ties them as the Kansas City Chiefs for the best odds (+600) to win the Super Bowl.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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