For over 30 years, the Madden NFL series has been one of the top-selling video game franchises in the United States. But while fans have their fun playing this legendary game, there is a “dark omen” surrounding the game. In 1999, Madden has featured one of the NFL’s top stars on the cover of the game, but almost every player has had either a subpar season, a major injury, or off the field drama during the year that they were featured on the Madden cover. This string of bad luck has become known as the “Madden Curse.” Today, we’re looking at every Madden cover athlete and ranking them based on how much they’ve been “cursed.”
NC. Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders is the only player who has been on multiple Madden covers, and the only one who never played after being selected for the cover. He was the cover athlete for Madden 2000, but he shockingly retired prior to the start of the season. Sanders also graced the cover of the 2014 edition, which celebrated Madden’s 25th anniversary. Being that he never played a game after being picked and has maintained his legacy as one of the NFL’s greatest running backs ever, he hasn’t ever had a chance to be affected the Madden Curse.
24. Calvin Johnson (Madden 13)
The only person to truly break the Madden Curse, Calvin Johnson not only had a great year, but he broke Jerry Rice’s record for most receiving yards in a season. The man known as “Megatron” finished his cover season with 122 receptions, 1,964 yards and 5 touchdowns. He was named 1st Team All-Pro and selected to his third straight Pro Bowl. Johnson was so dominant in 2012 that many thought he singlehandedly ended the Madden Curse.
23. Larry Fitzgerald (Madden 10)
Wide Receivers seem to avoid the full brunt of the Madden Curse. Larry Fitzgerald is a prime example as he ended the 2009 season with 97 receptions for 1,092 yards and a career-high 13 touchdowns. He led the Cardinals to the Divisional Round of the playoffs, was named 2nd Team All Pro and was selected to the Pro Bowl. He did get injured during the Pro Bowl, but his stellar season was what made him avoid the curse.
22. Drew Brees (Madden 11)
Individually, Drew Brees had a great cover year, throwing for 4,620 yards and 33 touchdowns, and leading the Saints to the playoffs. However, the Saints were upset by the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the playoffs due in large part to Marshawn Lynch breaking 9 tackles during his infamous “Beast Quake” run. Brees wasn’t the cause, but many believe that the Madden Curse was an underlying reason behind the Saints first round exit.
21. Odell Beckham Jr. (Madden 16)
2015 saw charismatic Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. grace the Madden cover. He responded by putting up a stellar 1,450 yards receiving and 13 touchdowns. However, Beckham’s attitude caught up with him. During a game against the Panthers, Beckham was shut down all game by Panthers cornerback Josh Norman, and he was called for three separate personal fouls against Norman. Beckham was suspended for the next game, so while the Madden Curse didn’t affect his play, his reputation certainly took a hit.
20. Patrick Mahomes (Madden 20)
The Madden Curse nearly wreaked havoc last season on cover athlete Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs quarterback passed for over 4,000 yards, but he did suffer a knee injury early in the season that caused him to miss two games. However, Mahomes led the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl victory in nearly 40 years and was named Super Bowl MVP too. Despite winning the Super Bowl, Mahomes still got a small taste of the Madden Curse with his early season knee injury.
19. Tom Brady (Madden 18)
Tom Brady’s yearly success has become based on winning the Super Bowl rather than putting up stats. In 2017, Brady passed for 4,500 yards and 32 touchdowns while leading the Patriots to their third Super Bowl in four years. However, they lost to the Eagles. While Brady avoided the major symptoms of the Madden Curse, it’s pretty odd that the Patriots lone Super Bowl loss of the decade came during the year their star quarterback was on the cover.
18. Richard Sherman (Madden 15)
The leader of Seattle’s “Legion of Boom,” Richard Sherman’s breakout 2013-14 season earned him the Madden 15 cover. Sherman posted a decent 57 tackles and 4 interceptions during his cover season, but the Seahawks lost the Super Bowl to the Patriots. It was also revealed that Sherman played through a torn elbow ligament which hampered him much of the following year. Sherman could have had a great season instead of a good one if he was 100% healthy; a small sample of the Madden Curse at work.
17. Eddie George (Madden 2001)
Eddie George is this low on the list because he avoided the full Madden Curse and had a decent career following his cover season. However, George began to decline thanks to a high workload and while he hovered around 1,000 rushing yards per season, George never became an NFL great like many thought he would be after winning the Heisman Trophy in college. The Madden Curse simply turned George into a good player rather than a great one.
16. Ray Lewis (Madden 2005)
The always-intimidating Ray Lewis graced the Madden 2005 cover, and many thought that he would be the one to fully break the curse. Despite a solid 101 tackles, one sack and one interception, Lewis broke his wrist during the season but toughed it out. Then, the following year, he missed 10 games with a thigh injury. The Madden Curse didn’t fully impact Lewis, but a broken wrist in his cover season is still evidence of it nonetheless.
15. Adrian Peterson (Madden 25)
Barry Sanders was on the primary cover for Madden 25, but Adrian Peterson was the cover athlete for the next-generation consoles. Peterson had a solid year, rushing for 1,266 yards and 10 touchdowns but he did suffer a foot injury late in the season. However, Peterson played just one game the following year before he was suspended for the entire season due to child abuse allegations. Much like Lewis, Peterson wasn’t affected by the Madden Curse during his cover season, but the year afterwards was a nightmare.
14. Lamar Jackson (Madden 21)
The current cover athlete has had an up and down cover season. Despite some solid performances, Lamar Jackson only has around 2,000 yards passing, 15 touchdowns and 6 interceptions as of Week 12; putting him on track for his worst statistical season to date. Now, he is sidelined with Covid-19 at a crucial time in the Ravens playoff pursuit. If Jackson can return quickly, he could surpass players on this list like Peterson and Lewis, but for now, he’s a mild casualty of the Madden Curse.
13. Brett Favre (Madden 09)
Brett Favre graced the Madden 09 cover after forcing his way out of Green Bay prior to the season. He ended up with the New York Jets, where he passed for 3,472 yards, 22 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. After the season, Favre “retired” again only to un-retire and sign with the Minnesota Vikings for two years. Favre’s statistics were underwhelming, but his constant retiring and un-retiring made the Madden Curse a mere afterthought.
12. Donovan McNabb (Madden 06)
The Madden Curse struck Donovan McNabb before he even played a game in his cover season. He clashed with star receiver Terrell Owens, who had a big ego despite his talent, and the tension between the two hurt the Eagles all season. McNabb ended up with a sports hernia and groin injuries which limited him to just nine games. He finished with 2,509 yards, 16 touchdowns and 9 interceptions, and he only started 16 games in a season once more before his career was over. Many attribute McNabb’s turbulent 2005 season to the Madden Curse.
11. Marshall Faulk (Madden 2003)
One of the NFL’s greatest running backs, Marshall Faulk had reached the 1,000 yard mark in 8 of his first 9 seasons. Then, during his cover year, Faulk suffered an ankle injury and despite missing only 2 games, he finished the year with just 953 yards and 8 touchdowns. Faulk never rushed for 1,000 yards in a season again, and while he is still an NFL legend, the Madden Curse contributed to the start of his career decline.
10. Vince Young (Madden 08)
The biggest “what-if” in NFL history, Vince Young was a victim of both the Madden Curse and the Jeff Fisher curse. 2007 saw the rising star fight through a quad injury for the entire season and end the year with just 9 touchdowns compared to 17 interceptions. Young missed most of the following year with another injury and Jeff Fisher opted to start aging veteran Kerry Collins even when Young was healthy. The Madden Curse was the culprit for Young’s lackluster cover season, but the Jeff Fisher curse was the bigger culprit in Young’s career.
9. Daunte Culpepper (Madden 2002)
One of the NFL’s forgotten stars of the early 2000’s, Daunte Culpepper was the Madden cover athlete heading into the 2001 season. He looked solid through his first 11 games, but a serious knee injury cut his campaign short. Culpepper finished the season with 2,612 yards, 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions along with 416 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns. Unfortunately, Culpepper never truly recovered after his injury, and the Madden Curse has been brought up as a reason for his sudden decline.
8. Troy Polamalu (Madden 10)
While Larry Fitzgerald avoided the Madden Curse, his fellow cover athlete that season got the full brunt of the curse. Troy Polamalu played just five games before his season was cut short due to a knee injury. The only reason he isn’t higher on the list is because in those five games, Polamalu had three interceptions. However, the Madden Curse doesn’t care about a historic interception pace, and Polamalu couldn’t capitalize on his hot start.
7. Michael Vick (Madden 2004)
The most electric player in NFL history, Michael Vick was put directly into the crossfire of the Madden Curse after being selected for the Madden 2004 cover. Vick ended up breaking his leg, missed 11 games and ended up with just 585 yards passing, 255 yards rushing and 5 total touchdowns on the season. Then, he would be suspended and imprisoned two years later for his role in a dogfighting scandal, before having a solid comeback with the Eagles in the early 2010’s. Vick’s chance to be the face of the NFL was dashed after his tumultuous mid-2000’s run, and it all started with the Madden Curse ending his 2003 season.
6. Rob Gronkowski (Madden 17)
Injuries are a common symptom of the Madden Curse, and nobody was bit by the injury bug more than Rob Gronkowski. Gronk suffered three separate injuries and ended up playing just five games during the 2016 season. The only reason he isn’t higher on the list is because he became the first cover athlete to win the Super Bowl the same year. I’m sure Gronkowski doesn’t care about being hit with the Madden Curse as much as he cares about adding another Super Bowl ring to his collection.
5. Antonio Brown (Madden 19)
Antonio Brown was the Madden 19 cover athlete and ended up with 104 catches, 1,297 yards and 15 touchdowns in his cover season. However, the ensuing offseason was where the Madden Curse struck. Brown forced his way out of Pittsburgh after feuding with Ben Roethlisberger, was traded to the Oakland Raiders, got into a physical altercation with General Manager Mike Mayock, filed a grievance with the NFL over his preferred helmet choice being banned, threatened to retire, and was released by the Raiders before playing a single down for them. To top it off, Brown signed with the Patriots, but only played one game before being released after it was revealed that he was under investigation for sexual assault allegations. Currently, Brown is the third wide receiver in Tampa Bay, but his fall from grace was dramatic enough to place blame on the Madden Curse rearing its head once again.
4. Dorsey Levens (Madden 00)
In all fairness to Dorsey Levens, he wasn’t a top player when he was on the cover of Madden 00. The starting running back for the Green Bay Packers, Levens had a good 1999 season, rushing for 1,034 yards and 9 touchdowns. However, he was struck by the Madden Curse after missing most of the 2000 season due to a knee injury. He never rebounded, and was out of the NFL by 2004. The Madden Curse hit Levens due to his injury, but the Packers also got hit by the curse because they failed to return to the Super Bowl after two straight appearances.
3. Shaun Alexander (Madden 07)
2005 NFL MVP Shaun Alexander was in the prime of his career when he was given the Madden 07 cover. Unfortunately, Alexander broke his foot 3 games into his cover season which limited his production. He finished 2006 with 896 yards and 7 touchdowns, but he only played two more years in the NFL before retiring at the end of the 2008 season. What looked to be the start of Alexander’s prime quickly vanished and the Madden Curse is the main reason for his quick downfall.
2. Garrison Hearst (Madden 99)
The original Madden cover athlete, Garrison Hearst is the reason why the Madden Curse came into existence. Hearst was on the verge of becoming one of the NFL’s top running backs in 1998, and he cemented this claim by rushing for 1,570 yards and 7 touchdowns during the regular season. Then, during the Divisional Round of the playoffs, Hearst broke his ankle on the first play of the game and missed two full seasons as he recovered. While he did win Comeback Player of the Year in 2001, he never regained the form he had during his stellar 1998 season. Garrison Hearst was the first victim of the Madden Curse, and it set up a string of bad luck for nearly every one of his successors.
1. Peyton Hillis (Madden 12)
The Madden Curse has caused devastating injuries, kickstarted falls from stardom and enhanced off-field drama. However, only one player’s career has completely derailed due to the Madden Curse. Browns running back Peyton Hillis rushed for 1,177 yards and 11 touchdowns in a breakout 2010 campaign and he beat Michael Vick in a fan vote to become Madden 12’s cover athlete. However, 2011 was a complete disaster. Hillis injured his hamstring twice during the season, and his inefficiency strained his relationships with the rest of the team. He rushed for just 587 yards and 3 touchdowns, and despite his willingness to take a pay cut, the Browns chose not to re-sign him in the offseason. He started just three more games in his career, and was out of the league by 2014. Hillis felt the full effect of the Madden Curse, and his career was over just as quickly as it had started.
Do you think that the “Madden Curse” is real? Who do you think was the “most cursed” cover athlete? Let me know in the comments section below.
The B List 