Caleb Williams is only two seasons into his NFL career and the accolades are already stacking up. The Chicago Bears quarterback has been named the cover athlete for Madden NFL 27, with EA Sports officially unveiling the news on Wednesday.
Two covers dropped at launch. The standard edition shows Williams mid-jump pass with the Chicago skyline behind him. The deluxe edition captures his Iceman celebration, the one that stuck in everyone's memory after Chicago's walk-off win over the Green Bay Packers late in the regular season. Williams also confirmed a third cover is coming, one built around his fashion identity and personal style.
For Williams, this one hit different. He grew up gaming and has long connected the Madden franchise with the biggest names in football. Landing on the cover was something he had been thinking about since he was a kid.
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He opened up about it on the "New Heights" podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce.
"Childhood dream, man," Williams said. "I mean, honestly, Mike Vick being on the cover. You know, John Madden covers and all these different things. It's gonna go up for sure. It's probably gonna be one of the newer trophies for me, being able to put it up right next to all the other cool trophies I have."
Caleb Williams Already Setting Sights on Back-to-Back Madden Covers
Williams pointed out that no player has ever appeared on back-to-back Madden covers and made it clear he wants to be the first.
"Dream come true, and they never had two back-to-back," he said. "So let's see if we can. That's my [goal]. Let's see if I can go and, you know, make it back-to-back this year."
That kind of thinking says a lot about where his head is entering year three. Williams becomes the first quarterback on the Madden cover since Josh Allen was featured on Madden 24.
Through 34 appearances, he holds a 16-18 record as a starter. He enters the new season with a 90 overall rating in the game after throwing for 3,942 yards and 27 touchdowns last year.
He also set a new single-season passing yards record for the Bears while leading the franchise to its first division title since 2018 and its first playoff win since 2010.
