Madden curse just claimed its newest victim

By Luke Cocowitch


Ever since the Madden Curse came to be, the new cover athlete has been in danger of being the next victim. 
Each year, EA sports releases a new NFL video game, with a featured cover athlete. Some people believe it’s only a repetitive  coincidence that happens every couple of years. Others believe that the NFL committee has a script each year for small things such as which teams will sign that Free Agent every team has wanted, to which team will claim the Lombardi trophy after winning the Super Bowl. Over the past few years, the Madden Curse has claimed a recent victim; 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey  started the season on IR with Achilles Tendonitis, a swelling of the Achilles tendon. After his return in Week 10, he wasn’t the same. He was on the field running the ball for the 49ers, but he didn’t have the same dominance and explosiveness. But then, during his Week 13 game against the Bills, CMC tore his PCL, a season ending injury, adding to the Madden curse’s list. 
The first hints of the Madden curse began in the 1999 copy of Madden, featuring  another 49er Garrison Hearst. During the regular season, Hearst broke a bone in his ankle, throwing him out of playing for two years. The next year’s cover, Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions, would go on to mysteriously retire during preseason practice in 2000. 
A few years later, the curse struck one of the biggest names in football at the time; Michael Vick. This curse hit almost immediately after the release of Madden 04, as Vick would break his leg and sit 11 games of the 2003 season. He was also charged for dog fighting and was deemed “bankrupt” after his charges. Though he returned for seven more years, he wasn’t the same.
Though the Madden curse disappeared for a year when Raven’s star linebacker Ray Lewis was featured on the cover of Madden 05, it came back again to strike its next victim. 
On the cover of Madden 06, was Donovan McNabb. He led the Eagles to the Super Bowl the year before, but in 2006, Philadelphia was last in their division. Shaun Alexander, Vince Young and Brett Favre were featured next on the cover in 2007, 2008 and 2009 respectively. Shaun Alexander and Vince Young were both riddled with injuries, and both were out of the league after their covers were released. 
Brett Favre was featured on the cover of 2009 after his retirement in Green Bay. He decided to unretire and return to the NFL to play for the New York Jets. Though playing each of the 17 games in the season, he led the NFL in interceptions, receiving the title, cursed.
On the cover of Madden 13, was the Detroit Lions’ Wide Receiver Calvin Johnson. During the 2013 season, Johnson broke the NFL single season receiving yards record, earning his iconic nickname; Megatron.  
  Featured on Madden 14, was Adrian Peterson, the Minnesota Vikings running back. During the 2014 season with the Vikings, Peterson was riddled with injuries during his featured season. Even though he still made the Pro-Bowl, the Vikings were last in their division, even though they made the playoffs last year.
For two years, the curse seemed unreal.
Seahawks Running back Richard Sherman was displayed on the cover of Madden 15. “I don’t believe in curses,” Sherman said. “I believe in God.” Sherman was right; the curse didn’t affect him and he went on to compete for the Lombardi trophy in the Super Bowl against Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.
In 2016, the New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was rightfully featured on the cover of Madden 16. Many have seen his breathtaking one handed snag against the Cowboys, but he has more accomplishments, such as another 1,000 yard receiving season, and a second-year Pro-Bowl feature.
Rob Gronkowski, also known as “Gronk” would be featured on the cover of Madden 17, after his fourth 1,000 yard receiving season. But during his 2017 season with the Patriots, he would go on injured reserve and sit on the bench while the New England Patriots hoisted the Lombardi trophy over the Atlanta Falcons in a gut-wrenching overtime win 34-28. 
Many students believe the curse is real.
“I believe in it because every year the cover athlete gets hurt, and it happens a lot.” Lugar said. “Even for college football, two of the three cover athletes got hurt this year at some point.” 
When Antonio Brown was featured on the cover of Madden 19, he was a standout Pro-Bowl wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers. During the 2018-2019 season, Brown had 1,200 receiving yards, and a career high 15 receiving touchdowns. He was traded during the 2019 offseason to the Oakland Raiders, where he didn’t play a single game and was released after the 2019 season. He was then signed by the New England Patriots, but only had 56 yards on the season. His career continued to fizzle out after he was traded to the Buccaneers. Though surrounded by greatness with Rob Gronkowski and Tom Brady, he retired in the middle of the game against the New York Jets.
Madden 20 and Madden 21 were both top hits for 2020 and 2021. Featuring two young stars of Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes, they are both off to great starts in their careers; Mahomes won two super bowls, and Lamar has won MVP of the league twice. These two cover athletes will not be cursed soon because of the generational throwing arm of Mahomes -- even though he lost this year -- and the speedy legs of Lamar Jackson.
On the cover of Madden 24 was Bill’s star quarterback Josh Allen. The Bills lost to the Chiefs again this year in the AFC championship. The Chiefs are Josh Allen’s kryptonite. Allen has everything a franchise quarterback needs; a cannon for a throwing arm, great running legs for escaping the pocket, and size and height to his advantage. If the Bills give Allen a Pro-Bowl caliber receiver to throw the ball to, he and the Bills will be Super Bowl contenders. 
On the next cover of Madden 26, I believe that Eagles running back Saquon Barkley will be featured -- especially after his record numbers this season, having a 2,000-yard rushing season, second all time behind retired Rams running back Eric Dickerson. Additionally, the Eagles won the Super Bowl even though he was contained. Though I believe Barkley will be featured on Madden 26, I don’t want him to because we now know: The Madden Curse is real! 

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