NCAA Football covers by year: Full list of college football players on EA Sports cover since 1993

Dan Treacy

NCAA Football covers by year: Full list of college football players on EA Sports cover since 1993 image

College football fans have put up with enough bad news about the state of the game in recent years. After realignment dominated the 2023 offseason, the 2024 offseason brings something much more exciting: EA College Football 25.

The classic NCAA Football video game is back. Well, almost. Fans will have to wait until July 19 — July 16 for those who pay for the early release — to play the latest edition of the college football game.

The return of the game means the return of cover athletes, whether it's one player, multiple, or even several gracing the cover of EA College Football each year. The last decade of college football featured plenty of timeless stars, from Joe Burrow to Christian McCaffrey, but none of them got the opportunity to appear on the cover of a game with the EA Sports edition defunct. 

Here's a look back at which players actually did land on the cover of EA College Football, which has changed up its approach a few times throughout its history.

MORE: Could the NCAA eliminate walk-ons under new proposal?

NCAA Football covers by year

YearPlayerSchool
1993Bill Walsh* 
1994Bill Walsh* 
1995None** 
1996Tommie FrazierNebraska
1997Danny WuerffelFlorida
1998Charles WoodsonMichigan
1999Ricky WilliamsTexas
2000Shaun AlexanderAlabama
2001Chris WeinkeFlorida State
2002Joey HarringtonOregon
2003Carson PalmerUSC
2004Larry FitzgeraldPittsburgh
2005Desmond HowardMichigan
2006Reggie BushUSC
2007Jared ZabranskyBoise State
2008Owen Schmitt (PSP)***West Virginia
 DeSean Jackson (PS2)California
 Matt Ryan (PS3)Boston College
 Darren McFadden (Xbox 360)Arkansas
2009Brian Orakpo (PS2)Texas
 Brian Johnson (PS3)Utah
 Mark Sanchez (PSP)USC
 Michael Crabtree (Xbox 360)Texas Tech
2010Tim TebowFlorida
2011Mark IngramAlabama
2012Robert Griffin III, Barry SandersBaylor, Oklahoma State
2013Denard RobinsonMichigan
2024Quinn Ewers, Travis Hunter, Donovan EdwardsTexas, Colorado, Michigan

* — The earliest editions of the game were initially named for Bill Walsh.

** — The 1995 edition of the game did feature players, but they were only small images that were, in some cases, unidentifiable. No standalone cover athlete was chosen until 1996.

*** — EA College Football produced different covers for different gaming systems in both 2008 and 2009.

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NCAA Football 25 cover athletes

There will be two covers for EA College Football 25. The standard cover will feature Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, Colorado's two-way phenom Travis Hunter and Michigan running back Donovan Edwards. The deluxe edition will feature six total: Ewers, Hunter, Edwards, Alabama QB Jalen Milroe, Georgia QB Carson Beck, and Ohio State RB Quinshon Judkins. 

Edwards is an interesting choice as the most prominent player on the cover, as he was the Wolverines' change-of-pace back in 2023, but putting him front and center is a nod to Michigan's national championship. Ewers and Hunter are two of college football's biggest names, with Hunter the choice over teammate Shedeur Sanders.

Beck and Milroe are popular Heisman Trophy candidates in the SEC, while Judkins transferred from Ole Miss to Ohio State in the offseason and is set to be a focal point of the Buckeyes' offense in 2024.

It's unclear what the second cover of the game will include, whether it's one player, several more players, or no athletes at all. 

One key rule regarding covers has changed. The cover athlete of past editions of EA College Football were always NFL rookies or legends wearing their college uniforms because NCAA rules prohibited student-athletes from being on the cover. That's no longer the case. If it was, there's a good chance Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, or Marvin Harrison Jr. would be on the cover this year despite being out of college football altogether.

Dan Treacy

Dan Treacy Photo

Dan Treacy is a content producer for Sporting News, joining in 2022 after graduating from Boston University. He founded @allsportsnews on Instagram in 2012 and has written for Lineups and Yardbarker.