It is one of the highly anticipated events of the NFL offseason.
The unveiling of the Madden 24 video game occurred on Wednesday morning.
There was much speculation as to who would grace the cover.
Last year’s cover was dedicated to the late John Madden, but in prior years, it has been a frenzy of quarterbacks including Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.
The quarterback tradition resumes this year with Josh Allen being selected as the cover athlete.
The #Madden24 cover reveal: Josh Allen pic.twitter.com/TJ9ZclZI7L
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 7, 2023
Allen is the first Bills player to ever be featured on the cover since the game was introduced in 1988.
The Madden Curse
Some fans do not want a player from their favorite team to be on the cover because of the so-called “Madden Curse”.
Being on the Madden cover is believed to portend a bad year on the football field.
It has not been true in recent years because Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes did not suffer that fate.
Allen Is Not The First Quarterback From His 2018 Draft Class Featured
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson beat Allen to the punch of being on the Madden cover as he was featured on Madden 21.
Both quarterbacks were first-round selections in the 2018 NFL Draft.
There Were Other Possibilities
Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, and Micah Parsons were other possible candidates for the cover.
Robert Griffin III mentioned the possibility of another Buffalo Bill being featured: Damar Hamlin.
There are always a host of candidates to choose from so it is never a decision that pleases anyone.
Why Josh Allen?
Entering his 6th NFL season, Allen, the 27-year-old 7th overall pick in 2018, is a key reason the Bills have had success in recent years.
He can do everything on the field, running for 38 career touchdowns and passing for 138 touchdowns, and is a two-time Pro Bowler.
Allen’s career passer rating is 92.2 which shows just how accurate and efficient he is; he only has 60 career interceptions in 2,566 passing attempts.
Some would argue he should be doing less running, and the Bills need to build a more powerful offense around him to pick up some of that slack.
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