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June 16 (UPI) -- Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson was officially unveiled as the cover athlete for EA Sports' Madden NFL 21 on Tuesday. "With style and swag uniquely his own, reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson dazzles on the new Madden NFL 21 cover as he does against the opposition on gameday," EA Sports wrote on its official website. "Dynamic agility and blazing speed make the Baltimore Ravens superstar QB untouchable in the open field.
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"The face of a fearless new generation of rising NFL stars, Jackson has changed the game."
When the football video game officially releases worldwide Aug. 28, Jackson -- at 23 years old -- will be the third-youngest player to grace the cover of the Madden NFL series, behind only star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. on Madden NFL 16 and former scrambler Michael Vick on Madden NFL 04.
Jackson also is the ninth quarterback -- and sixth black signal-caller -- to appear on the cover, following Daunte Culpepper (2002), Vick (2004), Donovan McNabb (2006), Vince Young (2008), Brett Favre (2009), Drew Brees (2011), Tom Brady (2018) and Patrick Mahomes (2020).
"My manager told me Madden was interested in me being on the cover. I was very excited," Jackson said in an interview with The Undefeated. "That's a kid's dream and I'm a grown man now. From getting drafted two years ago to winning MVP, it feels like everything has happened so fast.
"Now, I'm happy to be a part of this, just like all the other greats who have been on the cover."
Madden NFL 21 -- which will have standard, deluxe and MVP editions -- will first be playable Aug. 25 to those who pre-order the game or have EA Access. It will be released for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows, then will be available on the upcoming consoles Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.
