Leaked Madden 23 cover gaining traction on social media is actually fan-made

While the official Madden 23 cover reveal isn't here yet, many fans have perked up as a potential leaked version surfaced.

Here's everything you need to know about when this supposed Madden 23 cover popped up and where it's actually from.

Potentially leaked Madden 23 cover surfaces on social media

We're likely just a month or two away from official Madden 23 news, but that isn't stopping the rumor mill even a little bit.

Over the weekend, a supposedly leaked Madden 23 cover design surfaced featuring legendary creator John Madden as the chosen star.

The source of it going viral appears to be a tweet by DMoney where he claimed to spot the cover art on a street display while walking through Canton, Ohio.

The image was re-posted soon after by user allgames, and those tweets have continued to gain traction over the last few days.

The first post was quote tweeted by a handful of verified accounts, including Skimbo, and a few websites have picked up the tweet as evidence of a potential leak.

While it's possible that someone with access to a street display in Canton, Ohio did display this image, it's unfortunately not something created by EA.

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John Madden cover is fan-made and first surfaced months ago

This crisp Madden 23 cover design was actually created by Reddit user gregor630, and it was originally posted on December 30, 2021.

The original post can be found here, and it was created just a few short days after the legendary John Madden passed away.

The creation was a fitting tribute, and it's still possible that EA could create their own design to put John Madden on the cover of Madden 23.

However, as we spoke about when the image first surfaced, some fans are vehemently opposed to putting John Madden back on the cover.

Even the newly resurfaced version is catching some heat on Twitter as some fans insist once again that the franchise itself no longer deserves the name or likeness of John Madden.

For those hoping for official word, we expect the Madden 23 cover reveal could arrive in just under a month.

The Madden 22 cover reveal and game announcement arrived on Thursday, June 17, 2021, so we expect Madden 23 to land close to Thursday, June 16, 2022.