Madden 23 gets the John Madden treatment with fan-made cover

Following the passing of legendary sports and gaming figure John Madden, one fan has taken the step of already creating a potential custom Madden 23 figure covering the game's namesake.

You can see the cover concept yourself here, and we take a brief look at how EA Sports might end up honoring John Madden with Madden 23.

Fan creates custom John Madden cover for Madden 23

With the shocking news that John Madden had passed away, there's been a flood of fans, football players, and gamers alike celebrating his life and legacy.

One fan took that to another level by looking ahead to the upcoming release of Madden 23 and imagining John Madden returning as the face of the franchise that now permanently bears his name.

John Madden was the primary cover star of every Madden title until Madden 2000, but after that the series moved consistently to featuring modern day NFL stars instead.

The last time we got to see John Madden on the cover was with Madden 07 when he was featured on the Hall of Fame Edition to coincide with his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

EA Sports could change cover, name, or use gameplay to honor John Madden

Options are plenty for how EA Sports can choose to pay homage to the legacy of John Madden with the inevitable release of Madden 23.

Making him the primary cover star would be a big step, but some are already frustrated with the likelihood of him getting a deluxe cover.

The earliest days of the game series were dubbed John Madden Football, and reverting to that name style was one huge change we felt would be appropriate.

There's also the possibility, and hope among many fans, that EA will do more to incorporate and highlight John Madden's legacy with the game itself.

This could mean special additions to Franchise Mode with him in mind, like the opportunity to use him as a custom coach and build a John Madden led franchise.

We likely won't know what EA plans to do until Madden 23 is announced, most likely in June of 2022, but there's no doubt he'll be an integral piece of the next game in some way as his name remains forever linked to the series.