Lamar Jackson recently admitted to weeping a little bit the first time he saw himself on the cover of the upcoming “Madden 21.”
The superstar Baltimore Ravens quarterback and reigning NFL MVP opened up about his initial reaction to achieving cover-athlete status during an interview with NFL legend Steve Smith shared this week on YouTube.
“They revealed to me the cover early,” Jackson said. “I don’t cry about stuff. I didn’t cry when I won the Heisman, I didn’t cry when I won all the other accolades. But when I seen the cover, I actually shed tears, like, ‘What the? It’s unreal.’”
EA Sports officially announced that Jackson will grace the cover of “Madden 21 MVP Edition” back in June.
☑️ Heisman Winner
— Madden NFL 21 (@EAMaddenNFL) June 16, 2020
☑️ @NFL MVP
☑️ #Madden21 Cover Athlete
@Lj_era8 pic.twitter.com/HQYTIUUom5
Jackson reacted to the honor by tweeting feeling “[b]lessed is an understatement.”
Blessed is an understatement…I hope you all enjoy
— Lamar Jackson (@Lj_era8) June 16, 2020
@eamaddennfl #Madden21 #EAathlete #Truzz pic.twitter.com/nPoc4AVRl8
Jackson has not been pleased with everything “Madden 21”-related, however. When the player ratings were released, Jackson only netted a 94, which put him behind fellow NFL star quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson. Suffice to say, Jackson was not impressed.
Lamar Jackson's reaction to his 94 overall rating on Madden 21 pic.twitter.com/3P5p3ODxlt
— Athlete Swag (@AthleteSwag) July 14, 2020
Lamar Jackson is okay with being the No. 3 ranked QB in #Madden 21, but thinks he deserves a rating boost. @EAMaddenNFL pic.twitter.com/aM72ha6Fc4
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 18, 2020
“I wish it was better,” Jackson said. “But hey, it’s better than what it was last year.”
In the end, however, it goes without saying Jackson was left extremely honored and humbled by being named the iconic video game’s cover athlete for 2021.
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