12 as the New England Patriots' fourth-string quarterback.Īfter wondering "what's up with that," more than two decades later, Brady said the progression to cover athlete is "unbelievable." His name wasn't even in Madden 01 - instead going by QB No. 199 in 2000, he had ratings of 57 and 51 in his first two appearances in the game. When he first came into the league as Pick No. It's been a long way for Brady - both in the real NFL and in Madden. "I think he's going to be around for a while, and I think it's about how can people maximize their opportunity for what they want in their life and any way that I can give them some tips that they might be able to use." "For me at my age, I've seen a lot of great players kind of come and go, and he's definitely not one that is the type to come and go," Brady said.
It was football talk between two of the best to ever do it, with Brady seeing it as a way to pay it forward.
They talked about how to build winning teams consistently and the preparation it takes to be able to perform at the levels they have. Mahomes said he asked Brady various questions, and Brady, entering his 22nd season, offered a couple of tips about how he worked and has continued to play as long as he has. Both were recovering from injuries - Brady had knee surgery, Mahomes foot surgery - so Brady said, "It wasn't like it was a skills competition out there," but it was enjoyable for the two to spend time together. It's definitely a huge honor, and getting to do it with Patrick and the career he's had has been exceptional."īrady and Mahomes met in Tampa, Florida, one day to get the cover shoot done. "And just thinking how fortunate I've become over the years to put myself in this position to have these experiences in my life that I'm very grateful for. "To think that now, almost 30 years later, 25 years later, since the mid-'90s, here I am representing EA on the cover of Madden with one of the other great players in the NFL right now," Brady told ESPN. Just being in the vicinity of the game he grew up playing - never thinking he would be on the cover - was a thrill. One of Brady's neighbors as a kid worked at EA, and he used to play basketball near their offices. Still, being on the cover is "surreal" for Brady, who grew up in San Mateo, California, near where the Electronic Arts studios used to be located. Brady was in the league, almost a decade into his certain Hall of Fame career.
Mahomes was a kid growing up playing Madden when Fitzgerald and Polamalu were on the cover. Now, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs quarterbacks are the first players on the same cover since Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu in Madden 10. Brady's first cover - despite all his years in the NFL as one of the greatest quarterbacks to play the game - came in Madden 18. Mahomes was first on the cover of Madden 20.
"I'll be able to have it for the rest of my life and be able to show my kids and my kids' kids that I was on it two times." "So to be on it again, twice, with an all-time great like Tom Brady, it's a special moment that I'm glad that I'm able to do so soon after I had done it the first time. "Whenever you first get on the cover, that's a special moment," Mahomes told ESPN.