EA has just confirmed that Brett Favre is this years pick for Madden's cover boy.

This will be the first time that Madden has displayed a retired player on the cover.  This unorthodox choice was commented on by Madden NFL Executive Producer Dale Jackson saying,  "Madden NFL Football and Brett Favre are sports icons who have set the standard and revolutionalized their positions within their respective genres, Brett Favre is a perfect fit for the Madden NFL 09 cover as he epitomizes everything the franchise has stood for the past 20 years – longevity, excellence, and a love of football."

Also, on his blog, head of EA sports Peter Moore says, "It is with great pride that we take the bold step of featuring a retired player on the front of packaging, an honor normally reserved for a player at the peak of his game. I say with great pride, because some may question the marketing strategy behind this. I don't for one minute. In this, the 20th year of this storied game franchise, as far as I was concerned there was only one choice. As we look back over the past couple of decades in the NFL, Brett stands out to me personally as a beacon for everything that made me a huge fan of this great game from almost the moment I arrived from the UK in the early eighties…"