Brett Favre is the Madden 09 cover athlete

He may be retired but Brett Favre is the cover athlete for Madden NFL 09. This is the first time a non-active player has been selected for the cover. The news comes out of an appearance on the David Letterman show tonight (which tapes earlier in the day) and has been confirmed by GameDaily. There is also a show on the NFL Network scheduled for Saturday at 10am ET that will showcase the history of Brett Favre and the Madden franchise. The official press release is expected Friday morning.

It is fitting that Favre will represent the 20th Anniversary of Madden. His long and storied career can be revisted in the same manner that EA Sports will be doing with the 20th anniversary of Madden.