Does ‘Madden NFL’ cover curse still exist? A look back at 25 years of covers after Christian McCaffrey nod

If you’re a football fan, there’s no chance you haven’t heard of the “Madden” curse.

The apparent and infamous bad luck goes like this: the player appeared on the cover of the EA Sports annual NFL The video game is doomed to encounter something vile: usually a decline in gaming, or perhaps even a serious injury. Superstition at its best. The San Francisco 49ers are a team that certainly hopes the curse isn’t real, with reigning Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey rated as this year’s cover star.

EA itself has publicly denied the existence of the curse, which tells you everything you need to know about its popularity. Others, like the cover athletes themselves, criticized the annual uproar as a myth. And yet, whether you truly fear your favorite team will suffer at the hands of “Madden” or find it all ridiculously silly, the curse has never gone away. Or have?

Let’s review the fates of all 25 cover athletes since 2000, using the years of the “Madden” titles (the 2024 game is “Madden 25”), to find a verdict:

George rushed for more than 1,500 yards in his cover season, but he also lost the most fumbles of his career, coughed up the ball in the Titans’ season-ending playoff game and never averaged more than 3.4 yards per carry . the rest of his career.

Verdict: Cursed

After throwing 33 touchdowns and going 11-5 as a first-time starter in 2000, Culpepper tanked during his cover season. Injuries cost him six games, he fumbled 16 times, threw just 14 touchdowns compared to 13 picks, and went 4-7 in his starts.

Verdict: Cursed

2003: Rams RB Marshall Faulk

The Hall of Famer entered his cover season having recorded five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and three consecutive 1,300-yard campaigns. But in 2002, Faulk broke down, missing nearly half a dozen games. He never surpassed 1,000 yards again.

Verdict: Cursed

In the game, Vick was unstoppable thanks to his unparalleled speed. On the field, despite bursting onto the scene as the No. 1 pick, a fractured fibula less than a week after the game’s release sidelined him for all but five games. Four years later, he was in prison.

Verdict: Cursed

His interception total fell from six to zero in 2004, his cover year, and the Ravens also missed the playoffs. But that’s nitpicking. He also recorded 147 tackles. If we were talking about the following year, perhaps there would be an argument to be made since he missed 10 games.

Verdict: Not cursed

McNabb reached his peak in 2004, throwing 31 touchdowns and leading the Eagles to Super Bowl XXXIX. But 2005 was rock bottom. He feuded with Terrell Owens and missed nearly half of the 6-10 season. He also missed eight games over the next two years.

Verdict: Cursed

Like Faulk, he entered his cover year with five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons under his belt. And his dominance was also interrupted. In 2006, his rushing total dropped from 1,880 to 896, and two years later he was out of the NFL, one loss for the Washington Redskins.

Verdict: Cursed

He was the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2006. However, in his cover year, Young threw just nine touchdowns compared to 17 interceptions, missed one game and earned a bench spot in 2008, never fully regaining Jeff Fisher’s trust. .

Verdict: Cursed

2009: Packers/Jets QB Brett Favre

EA started by making Favre the cover athlete as a tribute to his Packers career, which had just ended. But then Favre forced his way out and entered New York. All he did was throw 22 NFL picks and injure his shoulder before moving to Minnesota.

Verdict: Cursed

Fitz had one of his standard Pro Bowl seasons with over 1,000 yards, but Polamalu missed a career-high 11 games in 2009 thanks to an MCL injury, recording a career-low 20 tackles.

Verdict: Half cursed

Getting 33 points and earning another Pro Bowl selection is a good thing, but Brees had what constitutes a down year in the season he graced the cover, throwing a career-high and franchise-record 22 picks. His Saints also lost to the Seahawks 7-9 in the playoffs.

Verdict: Cursed

A cult hero of “Madden,” Hillis managed to reach 1,000 yards as a surprise lead in 2010, but during his cover year, he missed half a dozen games due to injury, averaging just 3.6 yards per carry and rushed into a journeyman reserve career.

Verdict: Cursed

If anyone beat the curse, it was Johnson, who had a historic career and season the year he appeared on the cover. Like Barry Sanders before him in Detroit, he retired relatively early a few years later, but in 2012 he recorded an impressive 1,964 receiving yards.

Verdict: Not cursed

If Johnson broke the curse, Peterson may have reignited it in 2013. Fresh off his sixth 1,000-yard season and two years after a historic 2,000-yard campaign, he missed all but one game after being indicted for accusations of child abuse.

Verdict: Cursed

His interception total dropped and his Seahawks failed to repeat as Super Bowl champions, but otherwise Sherman was still at the top of his game during his cover year. It wasn’t until after the season that he had to undergo Tommy John surgery.

Verdict: Not cursed

It could be argued that 2015, Beckham’s cover year, was when the flamboyant player fell on an inconsistent trajectory, including a one-game suspension for his fight with Josh Norman. But he still dominated the field with 1,400 yards.

Verdict: Not cursed

The five-time Pro Bowler was coming off another double-digit touchdown season in 2016, but missed virtually all of the Patriots’ first four games with a hamstring injury and finished with just six starts due to a herniated disc and others. injury problems. .

Verdict: Cursed

2018: Patriots QB Tom Brady

With a chance to win a sixth Lombardi Trophy, Brady was defeated by Eagles backup Nick Foles in Super Bowl LII. But he still threw for over 500 yards in that game after winning yet another MVP award – all at age 40. He proved immune to the curse.

Verdict: Not cursed

One of the game’s most talented route runners, Brown scored a career-high 15 touchdowns during his cover year, but proved tumultuous in the Steelers’ locker room, resulting in his trade to the Raiders after the season. He played just 16 more games in the NFL, bouncing between three different teams amid a barrage of controversies on and off the field.

Verdict: Cursed

Rightly honored after a historic debut as Kansas City’s full-time starter, Mahomes hasn’t slowed down because of his video game fame. An injury cost him two games and made his numbers look more good than great in 2020, but he still won his first Super Bowl at age 24.

Verdict: Not cursed

Fresh off an MVP season as an electric dual-threat, Jackson would experience a drop in passing efficiency and durability a few years later, but his cover season, 2020, was still star-studded, marking his second straight career-high-scoring campaign. 1,000 yards. .

Verdict: Not cursed

2022: Buccaneers QB Tom Brady Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes

Sharing the cover as the faces of the NFL past and present, Brady and Mahomes enjoyed their typical unparalleled success after gracing “Madden” again. The former threw for 5,300 yards and 43 touchdowns at 44 while leading Tampa Bay back to the playoffs, while Mahomes casually threw for 37 touchdowns in a 12-5 season that ended in the AFC title game.

Verdict: Not cursed

2023: John Madden

The Hall of Fame coach and broadcaster died at age 85 in late 2021 and returned to the cover of his famous series as part of a tribute to the 2022 season.

Verdict: N/A

Allen was the first Bills player to appear on the cover. Although he was unable to end Buffalo’s string of disappointing postseason results and maintained a penchant for turnovers, the burly dual threat scored over 40 total touchdowns for the fourth year in a row, serving as the main reason for the late turnaround. of the Bills’ season. . He remains the centerpiece of their title hopes.

Verdict: Not cursed

Final verdict

What does history tell us then? Using our decisions year by year, 13.5 of 24 cover athletes (or 56%) from 2000 to 2024 were cursed, but only 3 of 10 cover athletes (or 30%) of the last 10 years, 2014-2024, have been cursed. There have also been no consecutive “curses” since 2011-2012.

So is the “Madden” curse alive? Perhaps. But it may well be losing its power.

Or, you know, it could just be made up.