Christian McCaffrey joins 'The Insiders' after being named 'Madden NFL 25' Cover Athlete

McCaffrey has racked up a lot of accolades during his NFL career. The reigning AP offensive Player of the year two first team all pros, three time Pro Bowler. But it doesn't get a whole lot cooler than this for any player. He is also now officially the cover athlete for EA sports Madden NFL 25, first running back to grace that cover in a decade. And what do you know who's joining us right now? It is indeed Christian McCaffrey. The 40 Niners superstar Christian congrats man. Thanks for being here. Tell me about the Madden cover. How did this come about. And I'm sure you played this game growing up. What does it mean to you. Yeah it's a huge honor man I mean this is something that, you know, I think about all the times where me and my three brothers would be in the basement playing Madden 2001, going all the way back to them, and just having such a blast on the Nintendo 64. And we would throw it to my dad on every play and then, you know, fast forward to now being able to be on the cover is a massive honor. Christian, I know as part of your own charitable endeavors, you host the Logan Bowl, which is basically a Madden tournament with current NFL players playing Madden Hollywood Brown one. You just did it a few weeks ago. Hollywood Brown one this year. Could you beat Hollywood Brown at Madden? I think only time will tell, I might have to join the tournament next year just to just to see what happened. But you know, we'll see. Time will tell. All right. So everybody on Earth, Christian, is going to going to bring this up. I'm on Earth. So I'm going to ask you to. There have been a long history of the Madden curse and questions about being on the cover of that game. Bad things potentially could happen. Are you superstitious at all? Does anything in the back of your mind when you get the call, say like, I don't need to invite bad juju into this situation. Just tell me. Tell me the thought process from that perspective. No. Yeah. No, I'm not superstitious at all about it. I was so excited, man. I mean, this was this was such an honor to be able to. You know, when I first got the call, I was, I was in shock. It was something that I just never thought would happen to me. I never thought that somebody would call and tell me I'm on the cover of Madden. So when I got the call, I wasn't thinking about any curse. I was just excited. And, no, I mean, I think that stuff is kind of myth. And, you know, whatever happens, happens. But I'm I'm excited to be on the cover. What does it mean to you that you're the first running back since I think it was the Adrian Peterson and Barry Sanders a decade ago. It's basically the last few years have been basically all quarterbacks. What does it mean to you to be the first running back in a long time on the cover ? That means a lot, it means a huge amount, especially in a in a time where running backs are are slighted a little bit, and so I think, definitely means a lot. And I'm so fired up to, to be able to be on it and share the cover with, with some guys like, like the Barry Sanders of the world, like the Marshall Faulk of the world, guys that I used to watch growing up. Adrian Peterson, obviously, you mentioned Shaun Alexander, all these different running backs who I've seen every single clip of theirs and so to be able to share it with them means a whole lot. I also want to wish you a happy belated birthday. You turned 28 a few days ago. Here. You just signed a contract extension that goes through 2027, when you're going to be 31 years old. We all know that's kind of the number, especially for running backs. When you get over age 30. In your mind, how long do you anticipate you can keep this rolling? How long do you want to play? As long as I can. You know, I feel better than I ever have. I feel great, you know, I think I never put a limit on anything. You know, I love football more than more than anything. It's just something that I've been doing since I was seven years old. I don't have any plans of stopping any time soon, and so, you know, I don't have an end in sight. Christian, let's talk a little bit about the team. Last week when you signed the contract, you said you thought the team was in the Super Bowl window right now while also preparing for the future. You got about as close to winning a Super Bowl as you can possibly get. How does the team get just this much further? How do you get over that hurdle and finally win the Super Bowl in San Francisco? Well, I think the biggest thing is, is not even not thinking about last year and just focusing on the task at hand, taking it one day at a time. You know, I think when you get that far and lose, you now have a, have an idea of what it takes to get there. And, you know, if you start thinking too far ahead of time, that can affect what's going on now. So we got a really mature team. You know, we have a team that's been through a lot of ups and a lot of downs. And so for us it's just about taking it one day at a time, focusing on, you know, whatever meeting you're in, focusing on practice that day or, recovery, whatever it is, taking it one day at a time and then we'll see where we're at in the end. As much as you might not be trying to think about last year, Christian, when you come that close, I mean, right down to the end of the season, how much does that eat at you? How long does it take to kind of get that out of your head space, and how much of it all of a motivating factor is it when you get back in the gym, get back on the practice field? Oh, it's very motivating. You know, you definitely keep that chip, and it's definitely something that makes you hungry for the next year. I think the biggest thing, though, is, you know, whether or not we want to lost that game, we'd be sitting here training, getting ready for this next season. So, for us, it's just all about this year. Not looking to last year, not looking to the year before that. Just focusing on this year and doing whatever it takes to, you know, go as far and hopefully win the big one. A lot of the focus so far this spring on the 49 ers has revolved around Brandon Aiyuk and him not being around this spring. How has that affected all of you as you prepare? How much do you think about his contract situation and wanting him back in the building? Yeah, you know, I think everybody on the team wants him in the building. You know, he's he's such a pivotal part of not just our offense but our team and, you know, obviously we want him around, but, this is the hardest part of the NFL is the business side of it, you know, and guys have to handle their business. However they see fit, and so we understand and I think you go about your day and, you know, it doesn't really change anything you do. It's just, you know, whenever he gets there, we'll be ready to go. I know he's been working extremely hard and he'll be ready to go. And, you just hope for the best. But that's the toughest part of this league is the business side of it. You know, it's a kids game. It's a game that we've all loved and enjoyed for so long and, you know, when you add business to it, sometimes this stuff happens. But like I said, we have such a mature team. We have guys who have been there before, we have guys who have gone through their own contract stuff. Obviously, I'm familiar with it. So you just, you know, focus on you focus on what you can do and how you can get better. And then, come Sunday, when the whole team is ready to roll, see what happens. Christian, if you fast forward a year from now on, this show and everywhere else, we're gonna be talking about the Brock Purdy contract extension. How much money should he be getting? You've seen him grow here over the past couple of years. What more is out there for Brock Purdy as he goes into year three? Well, I think I think the thing I love most about Brock is, you know, obviously he can play. I think he's he's silenced every doubter on the planet, even though there's probably still some out there. But he can do anything. He can make any throw. He can extend plays, he does so much, without the ball too, as from a leadership standpoint, from being in the locker room. I think, he's definitely more comfortable this year, more vocal, more, you know, comfortable in the huddle. Even though he was extremely comfortable last year, too. And so, to answer your question, I don't know, I think if he just continues to beat him would be in a good spot. You're about to go onto some sort of summer vacation. What's Kyle's message to the team been as you go into the break and then head into training camp? I think the message that's been consistent over the last couple of years that I've been here, and still the same, is just how important these 40 days are and how, you know, these this time off can really, make or break your season. So it's so important that guys are getting in shape, staying, staying fresh in the playbook, you know, just taking this time off extremely seriously so that when we show up to camp, everybody's ready to go, ready to prepare, obviously, you might have to get away for a little bit of time, but, it's crunch time now, you know? And so I think just the importance of, the training, the recovery, the mental aspect aspect of it in these next 40 days until camp starts. He's the cover athlete on EA Sports Madden NFL 25, available in stores and for download August 16th. Players who preordered the deluxe edition get it three days earlier. Last thing for me, Christian. Just as the cover athlete, do you already have the game? Like there's no way. You just have to wait and get it like everybody else, right? If you test driven this thing, you know what I don't have the game, but that's a that's a good reminder. I'm going to have to hit somebody up and maybe get my hands on that a little early. Christian McCaffrey in line at GameStop on August 16th I don't really foresee that happening