By Noah Kantner

To be chosen as the athlete on the cover of the case for the NFL video game Madden, you have to be one of the very best in the NFL at what you do. Only a select group of star players throughout the years have had the honor of being a cover star for Madden. There is a new edition of Madden released every year, and being the cover athlete for a specific year of Madden means that you are a face of the NFL and one of the most recognizable players from the prior season. To these players, being on the cover means they have accomplished their goals and made it to where they’ve dreamt of being their entire lives.

Unfortunately, there is one downside to being named the cover athlete for a year’s edition of Madden. If any player is chosen to be on the cover of that year’s edition of the video game, they are now vulnerable to the dreaded “Madden curse.” 

The “Madden curse” theory is a superstition that was created by NFL fans after a trend of players who were featured as that year’s Madden cover athlete went on the following season to get injured or significantly underperform, at least compared to their prior season.

Madden NFL 99 cover featuring Garrison Hearst. Image courtesy of EA Sports

The “Madden curse” began after San Francisco 49ers running back Garrison Hearst was named the cover athlete for the international version of Madden NFL 99. Hearst was the first ever NFL player who had the opportunity to be on the game’s cover. Hearst had an incredibly efficient season in 1998, rushing for 1,570 yards and 7 touchdowns. Even though he was named the cover for Madden that year, things started trending downhill for Hearst. Hearst broke his fibula during a defeat to the Falcons in the NFC divisional round of the 1998 playoffs. He would then go on to miss the next two seasons due to the injury, and, with that, the curse had taken its first victim.

Next season, the “Madden curse” continued. Detroit Lions’ star running back Barry Sanders was named the cover athlete for the 2000 edition of Madden. Since being drafted in 1989, Sanders produced electric season after electric season, breaking records and being considered one of the all-time greats at his position. Yet Sanders unexpectedly retired before the 1999 season. Whether it be leaving the sport for good or a gruesome injury, the “Madden curse” was just beginning to gain some attention from football fans. The curse would then continue through Eddie George. George, a Tennessee Titans’ running back, suffered from a career-high number of fumbles in the season following being featured as the cover player. George fumbled the ball in the Titan’s season-ending loss in the 2002 playoffs and never reached that same level of stardom for the rest of his career, only averaging 3.4 yards per carry.

Daunte Culpepper after getting injured. Image courtesy of the Minnesota Star Tribune.

The curse returned the year after, in 2002, through Daunte Culpepper. Culpepper, the Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback, was on the cover of the 2002 edition of Madden. After an excellent 2001 season and being named the cover athlete, Culpepper went on to suffer a devastating, season-ending knee injury later in the year.

The idea of the “Madden curse” was beginning to gain even more popularity after all four of the last four cover athletes, from 1999-2002, either got injured or abruptly left the sport for good, and therefore were considered cursed. Could this outlandish concept actually be real? Although it sounds absurd, the evidence pointed toward “yes,” and this was just the beginning of a long road for the “Madden curse.”

Here are some other examples of players who have suffered negative consequences from being featured on the Madden cover: Marshall Faulk (2003), Michael Vick (2004), Donovan McNabb (2006), Shaun Alexander (2007), Vince Young (2008), Brett Favre (2009), Troy Polamalu (2010), Drew Brees (2011), Peyton Hillis (2012), Adrian Peterson (2014), Rob Gronkowski (2017), and Antonio Brown (2019). All of these players either suffered a crucial injury or their performance and productivity were notably worse than the prior season.

Madden NFL 25 cover with Christian McCaffrey. Image courtesy of EA Sports

In this year’s edition of Madden, Madden NFL 25, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey’s fate is still being determined. McCaffrey was out this NFL season through the first nine weeks, due to a calf and achilles injury. Only time will tell if McCaffrey will be able to return to his former self as the season progresses, now that he is playing again.

While opinions widely vary on whether certain players should be considered cursed or not, evidently, the “Madden curse” has a pretty credible track record, with many Madden cover athletes experiencing a downfall in some form or another. Although some declines were more significant than others, the players who underperformed as compared to their remarkable season before are still considered cursed.

One example of this is Adrian Peterson, a Minnesota Vikings’ running back. Although he still had a seemingly solid season after being on the cover, he still had a large decline in his production compared to the season prior. He then only played in one game the season after. It’s the same case with Drew Brees, the New Orleans Saints’ quarterback. Although he had what most would consider a decent season after appearing on the game cover, he still had an off year compared to the level he was playing at the season before and lost in the 2011 playoffs to the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks.

In the early 2000s, the curse seemed inevitable, affecting players season after season, but the curse did cool down throughout the 2010s. Now, in the ’20s, more players are continuing their success after being featured.

Madden NFL 22 cover featuring Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. Image courtesy of EA Sports.

After the Kansas City Chiefs’ star quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, came off an incredible season in 2019, he was named as the cover for Madden NFL 20. Fans were immediately concerned about this and worried about the possibility of the “Madden curse” falling on to their quarterback. After the news of Mahomes being the cover was announced, Tom Brady, 7-time Super Bowl champion and Madden NFL 18 cover athlete, reassured those unsettled Chiefs fans and said, “Nah it’s cool, we broke the curse.” After Brady was featured on the cover, he went on to two Super Bowls in a row and won one of them. Mahomes wasn’t any different with his continued success and won a Super Bowl the next season, and he now has three Super Bowl wins throughout his career since being featured. The two star quarterbacks even went on to be dual cover athletes of Madden NFL 22.

Statistically, it will always be difficult to prove the legitimacy of the “Madden curse” and whether there is any relationship between being a featured athlete and then experiencing a decline in performance. Underperformance and injuries are just a part of sports and can happen to players for a variety of reasons. So even though the idea of there being a “Madden curse” makes for a fun and interesting debate between football fans, nobody will ever be able to prove that the “Madden curse” is anything more than a superstition, and all of these star players underperforming or getting injured is simply unlucky and coincidental. 

The correlation between cover athletes and subsequent struggles creates intriguing and compelling storylines for fans to follow. While the curse is impossible to prove real, it undoubtedly has a place to thrive in the world of football.

Featured image courtesy of Keith Srakocic/Associated Press.