49ers could easily have a player on next year's Madden cover as well

It was announced earlier this week that star San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey will be on the cover of EA Sports' Madden 25 video game.

Believe it or not, the Niners have a pretty decent chance to have a player as the cover athlete next year as well.

It makes a lot of sense for McCaffrey to be on the cover of the popular football video game. He was dominant on the field last season as he had over 20 touchdowns and over 2,000 yards from scrimmage. He was the AP's Offensive Player of the Year and one could argue that he should have been the MVP of the entire league.

San Francisco has a few candidates for next year's Madden cover as well. EA Sports likes to vary their cover athletes, so it would not be super likely that the 49ers would get one of their players on the cover in back-to-back years.

Brock Purdy, Nick Bosa could be on Madden 26 game cover

On offense, the best candidate is quarterback Brock Purdy.

He is the most recognizable player on the team, and Madden certainly likes to put quarterbacks on the cover.

It would not be easy, though.

Given the fact that Purdy is somewhat controversial among football fans, he would probably have to win the MVP award in 2024, an award he was a finalist for last year.

It also would not hurt if he led the Niners to a Super Bowl championship.

Perhaps it won't be next year, but if Purdy can improve more and more over the course of his career and truly become one of the game's elite quarterbacks, then perhaps he will grace the cover of Madden one day.

The best candidate on defense would be defensive end Nick Bosa.

Bosa is already known as one of the most dominant and formidable edge rushers in the game. He would need a massive 2024 with somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 sacks where he showcases his dominance.

Perhaps the addition of edge rusher Leonard Floyd will allow Bosa to shine in 2024.

There is precedent for a defensive player on the cover as well. Defensive icons like Ray Lewis and Troy Polamalu have been on the cover before. Bosa may not be quite at their level of fame yet, but if he has a massive 2024, perhaps that will get him on the cover.

No matter what, it is cool that for the first time this century the 49ers have a player on the cover of Madden. The pessimist believes this means that McCaffrey will get injured as will the rest of the team in a repeat of the travesty that was the 2020 season.

Yet, the "Madden Curse" seems to have gone away in recent years, so perhaps McCaffrey will have another great year.

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