The 14 Best Athletes to Appear on a Video Game Cover
Box art outlives careers. These are the faces that sold a console generation.
1Tony HawkFronted Pro Skater and turned a niche sport into a franchise that sold tens of millions.
2Michael JordanCovered NBA 2K11 and 2K12, the games that reset the series after a decade of Kobe and LeBron.
3Ronda RouseyThe first woman to be a global cover athlete for a major EA Sports game, on EA Sports UFC 2.
4Eddie GeorgeThe first player to replace John Madden on a Madden cover, on Madden NFL 2001.
5Ken Griffey JrHis Nintendo baseball games were the reason a generation learned a swing.
6Bo JacksonGot his own NES baseball game while also being the most broken player in Tecmo Bowl.
7Lionel MessiFronted FIFA for five straight editions, the longest run any player has had on the cover.
8Cristiano RonaldoTook over the FIFA cover in 2018 and 2019 at the height of the Real Madrid years.
9Conor McGregorCovered EA Sports UFC 3 during the year he was the biggest name in combat sports.
10LeBron JamesOn more NBA 2K covers than anyone, including the 2K14 edition sold worldwide.
11Tiger WoodsHis name was the golf series for fifteen years, and the cover was always him mid-swing.
12Serena WilliamsFronted Top Spin 4 alongside the men, unusual for a tennis game of that era.
13Shaquille O'NealGot his own fighting game, Shaq Fu, which is remembered for all the wrong reasons.
14Alex MorganShared the FIFA 16 cover in the US, the first woman on any FIFA box.
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Comments
EA shipped UFC 2 a few months after her title loss, so a former champion was on the front. Fourteen covers, Jordan's NBA 2K11 included: https://youpick.best/articles/ronda-rousey-ranked-many-ways https://youpick.best/articles/shaquille-oneal-ranked-many-ways
