EA Sports has never taken this long to reveal the next Madden NFL cover athlete. Each year, fans have come to expect the Madden NFL cover athlete to be revealed in the spring alongside the game, with the game itself launching in August. While fans have had to wait a little longer than usual to learn more about Madden NFL 22, it seems as though the wait is very nearly over.

On Twitter, the official Madden NFL page released a short teaser featuring Peyton Hillis, a former Madden NFL cover athlete in his own right. The teaser video shows Hillis with two goats, which is highly likely to be a reference to the acronym GOAT - Greatest Of All Time. The fact that there are two goats in the teaser seems to suggest that the Madden NFL 22 cover will feature two athletes this time around, which is something that has been rumored in the past.

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Unfortunately, there are no other clues as to the identity of the Madden NFL 22 cover athlete in the video. There have been plenty of speculation and rumors about who might be featured on the cover, from Super Bowl legend Tom Brady to current Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but nothing has been confirmed. Luckily, fans will find out who the Madden NFL 22 cover athlete (or athletes) is come June 17 at 10am ET.

Now that Madden NFL 22 fans know when they can expect the cover reveal, the question is whether or not this reveal will also include the first look at gameplay. Usually EA would be hosting its EA Play event around this time where it would provide a deep dive into Madden NFL 22 gameplay, but that event is happening much later this year as well, scheduled to take place on July 22 instead of during E3.

The EA Play event happening July 22 will likely feature Madden NFL 22 in some capacity, but one would think that the game would be revealed prior to that date. After all, the Madden NFL 22 release date is almost certainly going to be in August, and if the game isn't revealed until the end of July, that would only give EA Sports a few weeks to showcase it before it's released to the masses. And fans are no doubt eager to see if the company has kept its word about expanding Madden NFL's Franchise mode after the version in Madden NFL 21 was so harshly criticized.

Then again, Madden NFL 22 is a game that Madden fans are likely going to buy regardless of their feelings about Madden NFL 21 or if they even see any gameplay prior to the release date. Considering this, EA Sports may not feel much pressure to show the game much prior to launch. Whatever the case may be, fans will find out the Madden NFL 22 cover athlete(s) come June 17.

Madden NFL 22 is in development for unspecified platforms.

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