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In what could be the biggest announcement before the NFL season begins, EA Sports will announce the cover athlete for Madden 22 this Thursday.
The NFL gaming community is rife with speculation about who the cover could feature. The team at EA Sports fueled the flames by releasing a short video on social media today.
Goats and Peyton Hillis… What does it all mean?
Here at Sportskeeda, we analyzed the footage to gather all the information and evidence we could to unveil who the Madden 22 cover athlete will be.
We managed to whittle the field down to five players that could grace the cover of Madden 22.
Five likely candidates to feature on the Madden 22 cover
#1 - Tom Brady
EA Sports released a teaser on social media showing two goats which led to many fans leaping to the conclusion that Tom Brady will grace the Madden cover for the second time. No other player has featured on the cover twice in their career but it's Tom Brady, so anything is possible.
He first starred on the cover of Madden 18 which would mean he'd be the cover athlete twice in four years. The fact that two goats feature in the teaser clip has also led to speculation that two players could feature on the cover for the first time since Madden 10.
#2 - Peyton Manning
Another player that could feature as the cover athlete is Peyton Manning. The release of the teaser video featuring two goats (and Peyton Hillis) could relate to Tom Brady and his longtime rival Peyton Manning.
Surprisingly, Manning was never featured on the Madden video game cover during his long and distinguished playing career. The former Colts and Broncos quarterback has enjoyed tremendous success off the field since retirement, starring in various commercials.
The guy is everywhere so it makes sense for him to put his face on yet another product.
#3 - Derrick Henry
Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry is among the fan favorites to feature on this year´s Madden cover. Henry has won two consecutive rushing titles and there have been reports of leaked images featuring Henry on the Madden cover.
A running back hasn't starred on the Madden cover since Barry Sanders in 2014. It would be well deserved if Henry is the player chosen for this year’s cover.
#4 - Aaron Donald
It's been seven years since a defensive player featured on the cover of the Madden video game. The Los Angeles Rams' Aaron Donald could join Richard Sherman and Ray Lewis as defensive players to feature on the cover of Madden.
Donald racked up 13.5 sacks last season to win his third NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. Rumors of two players being on the cover increase the odds of Donald making the cut.
#5 - Aaron Rodgers
The three-time NFL MVP has surprisingly never been on the cover of the Madden video game. Rodgers’ current situation with the Green Bay Packers would make the release somewhat awkward, but it'd be an honor that the quarterback would be proud of.
