Saquon Barkley Makes Madden Cover, Also Speaks at Christian Wealth Conference for Some Reason

Saquon Barkley is the first Eagle on the cover of Madden since Donovan McNabb in 2006. / Photograph via philadelphiaeagles.com

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Saquon Barkley Is on the Cover of the New Madden Game. (Also He Spoke at Life Surge and It Was Boring.)

First things first: Eagles superstar running back Saquon Barkley has been picked to to grace the cover of Madden NFL 26. He’s only the second Eagle to be honored in that way, the other being quarterback Donovan McNabb in 2006.

Question: Is this the first time a Madden cover has had a player going backward? I mean, Saquon’s making forward progress, but this shot is from that famous jump over the Jaguars. (Maybe some QBs were dropping back?)

Anyway, seems like Geno’s is on board …

Could something be going on today with Madden 26 and Saquon Barkley at Geno’s Steaks?
@HughE_Dillon pic.twitter.com/oQIwB8jQed

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) June 2, 2025

In related news, Barkley joined teammates Cooper DeJean and Brandon Graham, and head coach Nick Sirianni at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday for that big “Christian wealth creation conference.” Life Surge says people who buy into their methods will “learn why and how to create and multiply financial resources for kingdom impact.”

The “why” is presumably because it’s useful to have money. The “how” is by attending real estate/investment workshops for $97.

Does it work? You tell me — Saquon Barkley is the highest paid running back in the NFL. J/K. I haven’t seen any evidence Saquon Barkley has had any affiliation with Life Surge until now. It’s almost like this company just hires famous people at every tour stop to lend credibility and put butts in seats.

Judging by this recording of his appearance in the opener’s slot on Saturday, Barkley wasn’t there to be a spokesman for Life Surge, but to be casually interviewed in front of Eagles fans. It was pretty dull. Fine. Inspirational, in a general sort of way. But boring.

He answered some basic questions about life, faith, and winning the Super Bowl and was off the stage in less than 20 minutes. From what I’ve seen, it seems like only the last question mentioned Life Surge specifically, and it was pretty general.

Interviewing him was the event’s host, Chris Graebe. He’s a former cast member of MTV’s Road Rules: South Pacific and Battle of the Sexes 2 who later became a “secondary virgin” advocating abstinence, and is now, according to his Instagram profile, a “Entrepreneur & Equity Crowdfunding Expert.”

“We’re talking about Life Surge, we’re talking about surging our life, God’s way, what does that mean for you?” asked Graebe.

Barkley responded with a few sentences about working hard and doing Bible studies. Nothing controversial.

According to the Inquirer’s big story on Friday, Life Surge has been connected to some shady real estate deals:

“…Public records show that dating to the 1990s, Life Surge founder and self-described “serial entrepreneur” Joe Johnson was a principal of at least a half dozen companies and charities that were subject to controversy or financial disarray.”

(Weirdly, none of the following appear to have Wikipedia pages: Life Surge, Joe Johnston, Johnston’s Welfont real estate brokerage — not even Chris Graebe. smh. Dude was on Road Rules.)

The Inquirer sent people to cover the event, and found crowd reactions to be mixed. Some felt inspired, some felt duped.

One video on the app we still call Twitter shows a member of the crowd yelling, among other things “If you’re a Christian, don’t invest in Life Surge” before being escorted away.

Philly Man at life surge yesterday evening, know you’re not alone. I would’ve been right up there with ya if I didn’t pay for the photo op at the end. All that organization cares about is money. (1)#Philadelphia #Eagles #lifesurge pic.twitter.com/VEHMhRwvj3

— T (@T1300896828526) June 1, 2025

Speaking of Acts of God

You probably heard by now: Day one of the 2025 Roots Picnic at the Mann was kind of a shitshow, with torrential rains forcing delays onstage and at the front door. Social media was flooded with videos of ticket-holders still lined up outside the venue after 5 p.m. Any comparisons to Fyre Festival, however, were uncalled for. Easy for me to say, I wasn’t there. But it sucks for the fans and it sucks for the Roots who have been repping Philly with class and style with the Picnic since 2008.

Eventually the music did get started. Atlanta rapper Latto was delightfully NSFW. Philly hip-hop fans with some mileage were happy to see Beanie Sigel and Freeway reunite to do some old State Property favorites. Dave Chappelle was there. Also we got some cool drone footage from day two. This one’s weirdly fascinating. And this one, shot during Meek Mill’s grand finale, is utterly spectacular.

And now, here’s a security guard having a good time.

By The Numbers

Car 618: NYC’s Trolley Museum needs money to transport an old “Almond Joy”-style Septa el/subway car.

600 feet: That flag at the Pride March was huge.

#1: USA Today is hosting a “most walkable city” poll and Philly’s in the running. On one hand who cares, but on the other hand we are pretty walkable, and it would be nice to see that recognized in America’s number one motel hallway floor news source.