Madden 22 Cover Athlete Release Date Teaser Features Peyton Hillis and Goats

Madden video game fans are quickly putting together their theories as far as who the next cover star for EA’s football title will be. A Madden 22 cover athlete release date tease arrived online on Monday, June 14, and based on the video clip, many fans are pointing towards a previous rumor for the cover stars. That’s right, it appears that the cover for the game, set to release later in 2021, will feature two of the game’s star players.

Madden 22 Cover athlete release date teaser drops online

On Monday, EA released the clip (below) with a simple caption and references in the video. They mentioned former cover star Peyton Hillis, even tagging him, and presented a scene with barn doors opening up. Two goats stepped out of the barn, an older goat and one representing a baby goat. That seems to reference two stars of the game, both of whom were featured in a recent Super Bowl clash.

Former cover star Peyton Hillis also pops up at the end of the video in a fun reference to the former NFL running back.

Check out the Madden 22 cover release date teaser below:

Fans will officially find out who graces the Madden 22 cover on June 17, 2021 at 10 a.m. Eastern Time, according to EA’s Madden clip above. It’s possible we’ll also see other details such as the game’s pre-order details and official release date, as well as a mini-trailer, so stay tuned.

You can see VGR’s cover and release date predictions for Madden 22 ahead of Thursday’s announcement.

Who is Peyton Hillis, and who are the goats?

Based on the above video clip, it would appear that the G.O.A.T. is referring to the player considered greatest of all time, Tom Brady. He won his seventh Super Bowl this past February, defeating the man who could be considered the “baby G.O.A.T.” That’s Patrick Mahomes, who just recently appeared on the Madden 20 cover.

Brady last appeared on the Madden NFL 18 game several years ago. Following in his footsteps have been his teammate Antonio Brown, and then Mahomes, followed by Madden 21 cover star Lamar Jackson. Of those players, Brown and Mahomes have won the Super Bowl at least once, while LJ8 is in search of his first ring.

Meanwhile, Peyton Hillis received love, as he is someone we previously mentioned in our look at the Madden cover curse. Hillis, a former running back from Arkansas, played for five teams during his time in the NFL. That included the Browns, Chiefs, Bucs, Giants, and Broncos during his career which spanned from 2008 through 2014. He was the cover star for the Madden NFL 12 game.

Hillis became a cover athlete due to a tournament that EA ran with 32 NFL stars in it. Fans voted and decided ultimately that the then-Browns RB would get the cover over Michael Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles. Hillis didn’t necessarily pan out as a major star in the NFL but got the fans’ love for the cover. He officially retired in 2015 due to doctors’ recommendations based on his concussions and potential future injury.

Visit VGR’s Madden page to get more of the latest updates about the current and next-gen game.