The quarterbacks who competed in Super Bowl 2021 are facing off again – on the cover of the upcoming "Madden NFL 22" video game. Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Tom Brady and the Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes both appear on the cover of the game, due out Aug. 20 ($69.99, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/SX; $59.99, for PS4, Xbox One, PCs and Google Stadia). They are the most-recent two Super Bowl MVPs, though Brady won the big game in February. It's a rarity for Madden NFL to have two players on the cover, though in 2010, the video game series featured Super Bowl XLIII participants Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals and Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers as co-cover athletes. Brady and Mahomes have each appeared previously on the Madden NFL cover; Brady in 2018, Mahomes in 2020.

The 23-year-old wearing a sweatshirt and funky jogger pants could almost be mistaken for any other young man engaging in lighthearted banter while playing video games on a Tuesday morning. But after an MVP award in his second NFL season, Patrick Mahomes II tends to stick out, even when engaging in everyday activities like gaming. Though so much has changed in Mahomes's life after he laid waste to NFL secondaries with more than 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns, he still reverts to a ritual that dates back to his middle school days: hours-long offseason video gaming sessions. "It's been something that I've taken with me all the way since I was that young," Mahomes said during a promotional event for new in-game content for "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" at Treyarch's offices. Video games, especially shooters like Call of Duty, have served as a way for Mahomes to escape the pressures of his life on the field while still flexing his competitive muscles.

I am roaming the ravaged streets of Los Angeles while Patrick Mahomes is in my ears; directing me to watch my back. Despite the best efforts of the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and the reigning NFL MVP, I am no match for the sniper sitting atop a nearby roof who takes me out in front of a police car. "I told you to watch out," Mahomes said. Thankfully I have a next time because Mahomes and I are playing "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 'Operation Grand Heist,'" which was released this week. Mahomes was in Los Angeles to get a tour of Treyarch, a video game developer in Santa Monica, which developed the game and six other "Call of Duty" titles dating to "Call of Duty 2: Big Red One" in 2005.