Jackson is seventh running back designated as a Madden cover athlete. He is followed by Eddie George (Madden 2001), Marshall Faulk (Madden 2003), Shaun Alexander (Madden 2007), Peyton Hillis (Madden 12), Adrian Peterson and Barry Sanders (both Madden 25).
In advance of the cover's unveiling, the Undefeated's Aaron Dodson caught up with Jackson to discuss the Tecmo Bowl days, how Bo Knows came to life in his Madden return, and much more.
These conversations have been edited to improve clarity and length.
What does it mean to you to finally become a cover player for the sport, 35 years after you started your career?
This has been in the works off and on for years. It was time to get it perfect for my brand. Working with the Madden team to get things sorted out, make sure to cross all the i's, cross all the t's -after we had it done, everything else was just going for it. I knew that somewhere in my life I had done something right to continue to be thought of as one of the iconic players from thirty years ago. Madden continues to believe in me to think of doing something like this.
Your history with video games goes to 1989, when you were the mainstay at Tecmo Bowl. What was it like watching yourself virtually back then?