Williams selected as first Bears cover athlete for Madden NFL 27
Chicago Bears signal a new era under head coach Ben Johnson as Caleb Williams becomes the first player from the organisation to appear on the video game’s cover.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has been named the cover athlete for Madden NFL 27, marking the first time a player from the franchise has appeared on the game’s cover. The announcement was made via social media, with the full reveal scheduled for Thursday, 6 June, at 8 PM ET. Williams earned the distinction following a standout 2025 season in which he set a franchise single-season passing record with 3,942 yards and led the Bears to their first NFC North title since 2018.
Under new head coach Ben Johnson, the team improved from a 5-12 record in 2024 to 11-6 in 2025. The Bears secured their first playoff victory since 2010 with a historic 31-27 comeback win against the Green Bay Packers, overcoming an 18-point deficit. Williams threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns in that game, with 184 of those yards and both scores coming in the fourth quarter.
Williams also set an NFL record for wins when trailing in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, including playoffs, with seven such wins in 2025. Chicago won three games when down by double digits in the final five minutes, a feat the rest of the NFL combined for only three times. Williams threw a game-tying touchdown pass to Cole Kmet on fourth-and-4 with 18 seconds remaining in the divisional-round matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Madden NFL series debuted in 1988, with John Madden on the cover until 2000, when Eddie George became the first player solely featured on the cover. The article highlights the "Madden curse," citing examples of cover athletes such as Marshall Faulk, Shaun Alexander, Michael Vick, Peyton Hillis, and Saquon Barkley experiencing performance declines or injuries after their cover appearances.
Conversely, quarterbacks Drew Brees, Patrick Mahomes, and Tom Brady have reportedly avoided the curse, with Mahomes winning a Super Bowl and MVP after his first cover appearance. Williams completed 58.1% of his passes for 3,942 yards, 27 touchdowns, and seven interceptions in his second NFL season, helping Chicago improve from 5-12 to 11-6.
