Madden NFL 21 Cover Star Lamar Jackson Reflects On Joining The Elite Club

NFL superstar Lamar Jackson is featured on the cover of Madden NFL 21, and the art direction and style for the cover is very unique and creative this year due to COVID-19 restrictions. It's a wonderful-looking cover, and Jackson says in a new interview that he reacted emotionally when he saw it for the first time.

In a video for the NFL, Jackson said appearing on the cover of a Madden game has been a lifelong dream. He doesn't usually cry, but he became emotional when he saw this year's cover.

"That's been a dream of mine all my life," Jackson said of gracing the cover of Madden. "I've seen all the greats on it--Tom Brady, Ray Lewis, Donovan McNab, Gronk--so I was like, I want to be on it too. They revealed [the cover] to me early. 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 saw the cover [of Madden NFL 21], I actually shed tears."

Because EA Sports was not able to conduct a photo shoot with Jackson for Madden NFL 21 due to COVID-19, the publisher worked with the team photographer for Jackson's Baltimore Ravens to feature multiple photos of the athlete on the cover. The result is a striking cover that showcases different sides of Jackson and his personality and flair. It's one of the best covers in years.

Madden NFL 21 launches on August 28 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. For the first time in franchise history, the game will be available on Steam.

It was recently announced that Madden NFL 21 will have a 6v6 arcade-style backyard football mode with trick plays, though no gameplay footage of this has been released.