Windy City Gridiron
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has officially been named the cover athlete for the upcoming video game Madden NFL 27 by EA Sports.
A leak on May 30 showed Williams on the cover of Madden in his signature “Iceman” gesture in the Deluxe version, and that cover appears to be accurate, as it was confirmed by EA Sports this morning. But Caleb will also don the cover of the standard version. This marks the first time that a Bears player has ever appeared as the cover athlete of the standard version of Madden; former guard Roberto Garza graced the cover of the Spanish version of Madden NFL 09.
Here’s the Deluxe Edition featuring his Iceman pose.
And the standard version features his jump pass, sure to rile up Packers’ fans.
Williams is coming off a strong year with the Bears, leading them to an 11-6 season and their first NFC North championship since 2018. He finished seventh in the NFL with 3,942 passing yards and sixth with 27 passing touchdowns. He also finished seventh among quarterbacks with 388 rushing yards.
There’s still more work to be done in Williams’ development, as his 58.1% completion percentage ranked No. 38 among the 42 quarterbacks qualified for PFSN’s QB Impact Scoring metric. That said, his ability to perform in the clutch helped establish him as one of the most exciting quarterbacks to watch in the league. He led the NFL with six fourth-quarter comebacks and tied for second with six game-winning drives.
There’s a very real element of excitement around the Bears’ fanbase heading into 2026, with both Williams and head coach Ben Johnson performing very well in the first year of the two working together. After the news of the former’s Madden cover appearance, that buzz is now spreading at a national level.
Check out this clip from New Heights, the Kelce brothers’ podcast, from this morning, where Caleb talks about the cover, his desire to be the first ever back-to-back cover athlete, and they reveal a third “Fashion” version for the game.
