NY Jets star defender Sauce Gardner has set his sights on a lofty career goal: gracing the cover of Madden NFL.
When Madden 24 released its cover featuring quarterback Josh Allen, New York Jets’ Sauce Gardner took one look and said: “Naw.”
Call it ambition or delusion, but Gardner firmly believes a different player should be on the cover of Madden. Himself. He posted a presumably photoshopped picture of Madden 24 with the Jets’ No. 1 on the cover featuring his own signature to boot.
It doesn’t matter that Gardner has only been in the league for one year or that it’s statistically near-impossible for defenders to make it onto the Madden cover.
Sauce wants to splash some of himself onto that iconic PlayStation blue plastic, but… does he know about the curse?
Jets CB Sauce Gardner aspires to be on Madden cover
This shameless self-promoting from Gardner is cringe-worthy, to say the least.
Gardner did win Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2022, yet he’s hardly considered as household a name as the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, or even Antonio Brown from back in 2019.
Plus, Gardner plays cornerback, and in the history of Madden cover images dating back to 2001, only three defenders have gotten the privilege of being featured on the cover: Ray Lewis, Troy Polamalu, and Richard Sherman.
Of the three, Sherman was the fastest to make it onto the cover, taking just four NFL seasons to do so.
Once Gardner starts stringing together Pro Bowl campaigns and helps push his team toward postseason glory, then he and Madden can talk.
Until then, Madden’s cover is not getting the Sauce.