Does ‘Madden’ cover curse still exist? A look back at 25 years of NFL stars offers a verdict

rewrite this content material with complete duration and stay HTML tags If you are a soccer fan, there may be infrequently a likelihood you have not heard of the “Madden” curse. The obvious and notorious jinx is going like this: The participant featured at the cover of EA Sports’ annual NFL sport is doomed to stumble upon one thing dangerous — deficient good fortune, a decline in play, or possibly a critical damage. Superstition at its greatest. The Buffalo Bills are one group that higher hope the curse is not actual as quarterback Josh Allen will likely be gracing the cover this yr.EA itself has publicly denied the lifestyles of the curse, which tells you the entirety you wish to have to learn about its reputation. (The studio reportedly even pondered making a comedy film in regards to the curse.) Others, like cover athletes themselves, have panned the once a year hullabaloo as a fantasy. And but, whether or not you really worry your favourite group struggling at the arms of “Madden” or in finding all of it ridiculously foolish, the curse hasn’t ever relatively long gone away. Or has it?Let’s evaluation the destiny of the entire cover athletes since 1999, the usage of the years from the “Madden” titles (2023’s sport is “Madden 24”): 2000: John Madden, Detroit Lions RB Barry SandersSanders is one of the best working backs to play the sport, however his abrupt, surprising and arguable retirement got here in July 1999, which means he by no means set foot at the subject after touchdown on “Madden.” His departure used to be so stunning that EA used the Green Bay Packers’ Dorsey Levens for the cover of an alternative and European model of the sport.Verdict: Cursed2001: Tennessee Titans RB Eddie GeorgeGeorge went directly to rush for greater than 1,500 yards in his cover season, however he additionally misplaced a career-high quantity of fumbles, coughed up the ball within the Titans’ season-ending playoff sport and not averaged greater than 3.4 yards in step with lift for the remaining of his profession.Verdict: Cursed2002: Minnesota Vikings QB Daunte CulpepperAfter throwing 33 touchdowns and going 11-5 as a first-time starter in 2000, Culpepper took a nosedive right through his cover season. Injuries value him six video games, he fumbled 16 occasions, threw simply 14 TDs in comparison to 13 choices and went 4-7 in his begins. Verdict: Cursed2003: Rams RB (*25*) FaulkThe Hall of Famer entered his cover season having logged 5 directly 1,000-yard seasons and 3 directly 1,300-yard campaigns. But in 2002, Faulk broke down, lacking nearly a half-dozen begins and not topping 1,000 yards once more.Verdict: Cursed2004: Atlanta Falcons QB Michael VickIn the sport, Vick used to be unstoppable due to his unequalled velocity. On the sphere, regardless of exploding onto the scene as a No. 1 select, a fractured fibula lower than a week after the sport’s liberate sidelined him for all however 5 video games. Four years later, he used to be in prison.Verdict: Cursed2005: Baltimore Ravens LB Ray LewisHis interception general dropped from six to 0 in 2004, his cover yr, and the Ravens additionally overlooked the playoffs. But that is nitpicking. He still logged 147 tackles. If we have been speaking in regards to the subsequent yr, there could be a case, as he overlooked 10 video games. Verdict: Not cursed2006: Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabbMcNabb hit his height in 2004, throwing 31 touchdowns and main the Eagles to Super Bowl XXXIX. But 2005 used to be all-time low. He scuffled with Terrell Owens and overlooked nearly half of of a 6-10 season. He went directly to leave out 8 video games over the following two years, too.Verdict: Cursed2007: Seattle Seahawks RB Shaun AlexanderLike Faulk, he entered his cover yr with 5 directly 1,000-yard seasons beneath his belt. And his dominance additionally got here to a halt. In 2006, his speeding general dropped from 1,880 to 896, and two years later, he used to be out of the NFL, a Washington Redskins washout.Verdict: Cursed2008: Titans QB Vince YoungHe used to be Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2006. For his cover yr, although, Young threw simply 9 touchdowns in comparison to 17 interceptions, overlooked a sport and earned a seat at the bench for 2008, by no means absolutely regaining Jeff Fisher’s consider. Verdict: Cursed2009: Packers/Jets QB Brett FavreEA started by way of making Favre the cover athlete as a tribute to his Packers profession, which had simply ended. But then Favre pressured his manner out and into New York. All he did there used to be throw an NFL-high 22 INTs and harm his shoulder ahead of shifting to Minnesota.Verdict: Cursed2010: Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald, Steelers S Troy PolamaluFitz had one of his same old Pro Bowl seasons with greater than 1,000 yards, however Polamalu overlooked a career-high 11 video games in 2009 due to an MCL damage, recording a career-low 20 tackles ahead of sticking to the sidelines.Verdict: Half-cursed2011: New Orleans Saints QB Drew BreesThrowing 33 TDs and incomes some other Pro Bowl variety is just right stuff, however Brees had what constitutes as an off yr the season he graced the cover, throwing a career-high and franchise-record 22 choices. His Saints additionally misplaced to the 7-9 Seahawks within the playoffs. Verdict: Cursed2012: Cleveland Browns RB Peyton HillisA “Madden” cult hero, Hillis grunted his technique to 1,000 yards as a marvel lead back in 2010, however right through his cover yr, he overlooked a half-dozen video games with an damage, averaged simply 3.6 yards in step with lift and ran his manner into a journeyman backup profession.Verdict: Cursed2013: Lions WR Calvin JohnsonIf any person conquered the curse, it used to be Johnson, who had each a profession and historical season the yr he used to be at the cover. Like Barry Sanders ahead of him, he retired somewhat early a few years later, however 2012 noticed him post a whopping 1,964 receiving yards.Verdict: Not cursed2014: Vikings RB Adrian PetersonIf Johnson shattered the curse, Peterson can have reignited it in 2013. Fresh off his 6th 1,000-yard season and two years got rid of from a historical 2,000-yard marketing campaign, he overlooked all however one sport after being indicted on kid abuse fees. Verdict: Cursed2015: Seahawks CB Richard ShermanHis interception general dropped, and his Seahawks failed to copy as Super Bowl champions, however another way, Sherman used to be still at the highest of his sport right through his cover yr. It used to be most effective after the season he needed to go through Tommy John surgical treatment.Verdict: Not cursed2016: New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr.There’s a case to be made that 2015, Beckham’s cover yr, is when the fancy WR fell into a mercurial trajectory, together with a one-game suspension for his struggle with Josh Norman. But he still ruled at the subject with 1,400 yards.Verdict: Not cursed2017: New England Patriots TE Rob GronkowskiThe five-time Pro Bowler used to be coming off some other double-digit landing season in 2016, however he overlooked just about all of the Patriots’ first 4 video games with a hamstring damage, then completed with simply six begins because of a herniated disk and different damage problems. Verdict: CursedGronk began in most effective six video games within the season after he graced the Madden cover.  EA Sports 2018: Patriots QB Tom BradyWith a likelihood to win a 6th Lombardi Trophy, Brady used to be bested by way of Eagles backup Nick Foles in Super Bowl LII. But he still threw for greater than 500 yards in that sport after successful but some other MVP award — all at age 40. He’s proof against the curse.Verdict: Not cursed2019: Steelers WR Antonio BrownOne of the sport’s maximum talented route-runners, Brown scored a career-high 15 TDs right through his cover yr, however it proved to be a tumultuous one within the Steelers’ locker room, leading to his business to the Raiders after the season. He most effective performed some other 16 video games within the NFL, bouncing between 3 other groups amid a flurry of on- and off-field controversies.Verdict: Cursed2020: Chiefs QB Patrick MahomesRightly venerated after a historical debut as Kansas City’s full-time starter, Mahomes did not decelerate as a end result of his video-game status. An damage value him two begins and made his numbers look extra just right than nice, however he still received his first Super Bowl at 24. Verdict: Not cursed2021: Ravens QB Lamar JacksonFresh off an MVP season as an electrical twin danger, Jackson would enjoy a downturn in passing potency and sturdiness a few years later, however his cover season, 2020, used to be still a star-studded affair, marking his 2nd directly 1,000-yard speeding marketing campaign.Verdict: Not cursed2022: Buccaneers QB Tom Brady, Chiefs QB Patrick MahomesSharing the cover because the previous and provide faces of the NFL, each Brady and Mahomes loved their conventional unequalled good fortune after gracing “Madden” once more. The former threw an NFL-high 5,300 yards and 43 TDs at 44 whilst taking Tampa Bay back to the playoffs, whilst Mahomes casually tossed 37 TDs in a 12-5 season that ended within the AFC name sport.Verdict: Not cursed2023: John MaddenThe Hall of Fame trainer and broadcaster died at 85 in past due 2021, and he returned to the cover of his well-known sequence as section of a…