Betting on the Madden 23 Cover Athlete – Odds and Best Options

The iconic NFL video game franchise has their big cover athlete reveal every year. This year’s edition of Madden 22 featured the recent Super Bowl quarterback matchup, Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady.

They are the first duo to make the cover since Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu for Madden 10.

Mahomes and Brady have both been Madden cover athletes individually before as well. Brady was on the cover of Madden 18 and Mahomes was on the cover of Madden 20. Lamar Jackson, 2019, NFL MVP graced the Madden 21 cover.  

The most recent NFL MVP, Aaron Rodgers is the current favorite for the cover of Madden 23. Is he a good bet to don the cover, though?

Let’s find out by going over the Madden 2023 cover odds, and the best options you can bet on.

As noted, Rodgers is the current betting favorite at the best NFL betting sites.

Some would have said Rodgers was the most deserving for this year’s Madden cover, and a case can be made that he’d need another MVP-like season to have a shot next year.

Rodgers still makes good sense as the odds on favorite to grace Madden 23, but his price suggests this race is wide open.

With all options on the table, let’s take a closer look at who will be on the cover of madden 2023 by breaking down the best options.

Before you bet on the Madden 23 cover, you’ll want to assess the best options. Some players stand out more than others, and it’s quite clear the Madden decision-makers have no qualms with selecting popular players.

Lamar Jackson won the NFL MVP two years ago, and this year’s version had Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.

Due to that, aiming high may not necessarily be the way to go. With that, here’s a look at the top contenders.

Aaron Rodgers, the NFL’s most recent MVP, makes a strong case for this award. He is coming off a drama packed offseason, making the 2021 season his biggest yet.

Rodgers is likely playing his last season in a Packer’s uniform, and maybe even in any NFL uniform.

You can bet for Aaron Rodgers to be the next Madden cover athlete at BetUs.

Coming in at second is Kyler Murray.

Murray has a bunch of potential and the odds makers seem to really think he’s got a strong chance at this award.

Murray is coming into his third year and is looking to put together a strong season. He can do it on the ground and in the air; just check out the damage he did in 2020.

The Cardinals added some more firepower in the offseason, headlined by ex-Texan, J.J Watt and ex-Bengal, A.J Green. They also drafted a great linebacker prospect in Zaven Collins.

All these players could help shine the light on Murray, who is primed for what should be his best season yet.

Josh Allen is another quarterback who is in discussion for this award.

Allen had an incredible breakout year in 2020, scoring 45 total touchdowns. He also finished second in MVP votes behind Aaron Rodgers. Allen led the Bills to the AFC Championship game, before falling to the Chiefs.

The Bills extended their franchise quarterback recently and with a big season, he can prove the Bills right.

You can almost certainly rule out Mahomes and Brady since they’re gracing the cover this year, while Madden historically isn’t big on repeating cover men.

Outside of the top Madden 23 cover options I touched on, there could be a lot of value to be had here. That brings me to a few other Madden 23 cover options that could give you quite a bit of bang for your buck.

Coming at a great price in the top 10 is Panthers’ running back, Christian McCaffrey. The only thing stopping McCaffrey from dominating the NFL is his health. McCaffrey only played three games last season, missing 13 games due to injuries.

That was a bummer, but the guy has been a machine when he’s been on the field.

Christian McCaffrey's last 19 games: 1,612 rushing yards, 133 catches, 1,154 receiving yards and 25 total TD. pic.twitter.com/ZrS1JtGOhS

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) August 19, 2021

The season before, McCaffrey was incredible.

He registered 19 total touchdowns (15 rushing, four receiving) while gaining a whopping 2,392 yards from scrimmage. He also caught 116 passes on 142 targets, his second consecutive season catching over 100 passes out of the backfield.

McCaffrey’s scrimmage yard total was the third most ever in a single season, trailing Chris Johnson (2,509) in 2009, and Marshall Faulk (2,429) in 1999. He has a great chance to break that record in 2021, with the NFL schedule having 18 weeks instead of the original 17.

McCaffrey could also be a strong MVP candidate from a non-QB position. He already enters the year as one of the top 2021 NFL MVP sleepers.

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Herbert is another young promising quarterback who could win this award.

After being thrusted into the starting quarterback position for the Chargers in Week 2, Herbert shined. He finished the 2020 season with an impressive total in passing yards and touchdowns.

He threw for 4,336 (more than 289 per game) passing yards and 31 touchdowns. His 10 interceptions were also surprisingly low for a rookie who only sat for one game.

Herbert is a gunslinger at the quarterback position.

With a year of experience under his belt, Herbert should be in for an even better year. If he can challenge the Chiefs and Mahomes in the division race, he could become the next Madden cover athlete.

Continuing the streak of young promising quarterbacks, we come to the 2020 number one overall draft pick – Joe Burrow.

Burrow is coming off his rookie season as well, but he also has a tougher hill to climb than Herbert.

Burrow suffered a torn ACL in Week 11 of the 2020 season and his recovery will be something to keep an eye on this season. He appears to be ready for the season, but any ACL tear is something to be careful with. If Burrow can overcome his injury, he could have a great year in 2021.

Some think his 2021 season could be even better.

The Bengals added Burrow’s old LSU teammate, Ja’Marr Chase in the First Round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Chase is another great piece in the Bengals wide receiving core, which already has Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins. The A.J Green days are over in Cincinnati, but that doesn’t mean they are going to be worse in that department.

Burrow has the potential to have a big year in 2021 and could thrust himself into the Madden cover conversation.

Alright, enough of the quarterbacks. The quarterbacks are typically the cover athletes, but there are non-QBs with potential, too.

Cook is one of the most dynamic running backs in the NFL. He was incredible in his 14 games in 2020, rushing for 1,557 yards and 16 touchdowns. If he didn’t miss two games, those stats could’ve been even better.

Cook is playing another year with the Vikings, and hopefully he can play the full 17 games. If he can stay healthy, he could turn the Vikes into a contender.

The Vikings already have one of the best 2021 NFL win totals to bet on, and a healthy and dominant Cook would lock them in for bettors.

He averaged a little more than 110 rushing yards per game in 2020 (111.21 rushing yards per game) and if you put that over the NFL’s new 17 game schedule, that would be 1,890 rushing yards. His 17 total touchdowns in 14 games would equate to 20 total touchdowns over a 17-game span.

As you can see, Cook could have an incredible season again in 2021 and make a case for the first active running back to be the cover athlete since Madden 12’s Peyton Hillis.

The pattern of recent NFL MVPs has Aaron Rodgers looking like a safe bet for this award. His potential retirement just adds to the story and Madden 23 could honor his Hall of Fame career.

The recent cover was a twist with two cover athletes, and they have also put breakout players on the cover as well. Peyton Hillis was on Madden 12, Richard Sherman on Madden 15, and Odell Beckham Jr. on Madden 16 come to mind.

These outliers prove that it is not always the quarterback/MVP type player from the year before.

Rodgers is a safe bet, but I like Christian McCaffrey for next season at his current price. You can go with one of those two, but all these options figure to have a shot at being the next athlete to grace the cover of Madden.