Normally, the coveted cover spot is taken by one of the top players in the league, but Peter Moore, president of EA Sports, said discussions are currently underway to have it . In a touch of class, he said all proceeds from the auction would go to the United Way, with which the NFL has had a long-standing charity partnership.

In an interesting side note, Moore said the franchise's success has not been linked to the cover star. "Our research tells us we don't see a huge up-tick or down-tick depending on who's on the cover -- they're buying Madden," he said.

However, the decision won't come anytime soon. Moore said negotiations were still being conducted with EA's skittish marketing team. The team requires some "convincing," Moore said.

Nevertheless, Moore was optimistic about the idea.

"I bet you can find 50 players that would say, 'I'd pay good money to be on the Madden cover.' The league does a lot of work with [the United Way] to make them realize how lucky they are and a lot of them have come out of poor circumstances and they give back."