What Is the Madden Curse? A Complete List of NFL Players Who Made the Cover

In the world of sports, there’s no shortage of legendary curses. You've got the Red Sox and the Curse of the Bambino, the Cubs and their infamous Billy Goat, and even the modern-day Drake Curse. But when it comes to sports video games, the Madden Curse is the most notable.

The curse suggests that any NFL player who lands on the cover of the Madden video game is doomed to face some kind of misfortune -- whether it's an injury or a performance slump -- during the following season or shortly after.

In this breakdown, we’re diving into each of the Madden covers to see what went down.

Madden Curse Timeline

Madden 26: Saquon Barkley

It was just announced that Philadelphia Eagles’ star Saquon Barkley and his iconic hurdle will be on the Madden 26 cover. It’s too early to know if the reigning Offensive Player of the Year will be affected by the curse… but all eyes will certainly be on him.

Madden 25: Christian McCaffrey

After making the cover, McCaffrey suffered a few injuries throughout the season, including a knee and Achilles sprain. He began and finished the year on injured reserve, only playing in four games.

Madden 24: Josh Allen

Falling short of the Super Bowl has become the norm for Josh Allen -- could the Madden curse be to blame? While there wasn’t anything too notable for Allen after the Madden 24 cover, he did throw a career-high 18 interceptions.

Madden 23: John Madden

No curse here. After passing away in December 2021, John Madden was the obvious choice to grace the cover of the next Madden game in a touching tribute.

Madden 22: Tom Brady & Patrick Mahomes

I guess you could call it a disappointing season for Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes after gracing the cover (for a second time each) as both failed to make it back to the Super Bowl. But this was hardly a cursed year statistically. Brady led the NFL in passing yards (5,316) and touchdowns (43), while Mahomes ranked fourth in both those categories.

Madden 21: Lamar Jackson

Lamar Jackson's production dropped off after gracing the Madden 21 cover following an MVP season. He saw a sharp dip in passing touchdowns (36 to 26) while throwing for 370 fewer yards than the prior year. The Ravens also lost in the Divisional Round after only qualifying for the playoffs as a Wild Card team.

Madden 20: Patrick Mahomes

Patrick Mahomes won a Super Bowl and the Super Bowl MVP award, so it wasn't all bad. Still, his production dropped significantly from where it was in the 2018 season that earned him the cover spot, and he also dealt with a scary mid-season knee injury that cost him two games.

Madden 2019: Antonio Brown

Antonio Brown was unarguably the best wide receiver in football when he was awarded the Madden cover. His stats on the field didn't seem to be affected by the curse, but the same cannot be said for his off-the-field dealings. Pittsburgh traded Brown after the 2018 campaign, and he appeared in just 16 games the rest of his career.

Madden 2018: Tom Brady

While Tom Brady himself put up one of his best statistical seasons of his career in his cover year, his New England Patriots ended up losing in the Super Bowl to the Philadelphia Eagles in one of the bigger Super Bowl upsets in history.

Madden 2017: Rob Gronkowski

Rob Gronkowski technically won a Super Bowl the year he was on the cover, but he still had an injury-riddled season. He started only six games, missing the entire postseason and ended the regular season with 25 catches, 540 yards, and three touchdowns.

Madden 2016: Odell Beckham Jr.

Odell Beckham Jr. had some image issues the year he was on the cover, but his performance on the field was quite good. It wasn't until the 2017 season that the Madden Curse reared its ugly head.

Madden 2015: Richard Sherman

Richard Sherman ended up putting up a great season directly after his appearance on the cover. Sherman's stats dipped over the following seasons before he was ultimately released by the Seahawks.

Madden 2014 (Madden 25): Adrian Peterson

Adrian Peterson recovered from an ACL tear to nearly break the NFL single-season rushing record the year before he was on the cover, but he ended up dropping off big time by more than 800 yards. However, it wasn't until the season after that Peterson felt the curse, missing all but one game of the 2014 season.

Madden 2013: Calvin Johnson

Calvin Johnson broke the single-season receiving yards record in his cover year, and still grabbed at least 1,000 yards in his next three seasons, but Johnson unexpectedly retired early from the NFL after nine seasons with the Detroit Lions.

Madden 2012: Peyton Hillis

Peyton Hillis might be the definition of a one-hit wonder in the NFL. After rushing for more than 1,100 yards to earn the cover spot, Hillis barely cracked that total by a combined total over the next four seasons. He was then out of the league.

Madden 2011: Drew Brees

Drew Brees made it through the regular season, but in the first round of the playoffs, the New Orleans Saints went up against a Seattle Seahawks team that made the playoffs at 7-9. New Orleans was the biggest betting favorite in playoff history at the time, but the Saints still lost to Seattle and went home way earlier than expected.

Madden 2010: Troy Polamalu & Larry Fitzgerald

Even though there were two players on the cover for the 2010 version of the game, both players had unfortunate events to follow. The Pittsburgh Steelers, coming off a Super Bowl win over the Arizona Cardinals in the previous season, missed the NFL Playoffs and Troy Polamalu only played in five games due to a slew of knee injuries. Larry Fitzgerald, on the other hand, played the regular season, but missed the entire playoffs with a rib injury.

Madden 2009: Brett Favre

Brett Favre spent this season with the New York Jets, which on top of the on-the-field struggles, came with a ton of negative off-the-field attention. Favre also ended up playing the last part of the season with a bicep injury, losing four of his last five games and ultimately moving on to Minnesota.

Madden 2008: Vince Young

After a historic college career, Vince Young was one of the brightest rising stars in the NFL (winning Rookie of the Year and making a Pro Bowl), that is until he graced the cover of Madden. Young would miss a game due to injury that season, but that was only the beginning of his troubles. Young was soon deemed mentally unstable, the Titans ended up releasing him, and he bounced around the league for a few years after that.

Madden 2007: Shaun Alexander

Shaun Alexander was coming off one of the best seasons ever for a running back, breaking the single-season rushing touchdown record. Once on the cover, Alexander fractured his foot, missing six games and never truly recovered from the injury. He was out of the league entirely soon after that.

Madden 2006: Donovan McNabb

Donovan McNabb was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL prior to landing the Madden cover. However, in his first game of the season, McNabb got hurt and ended up missing seven games that season. It was also the year he endured a very pubic feud with star wide receiver Terrell Owens. McNabb never made it back to the Pro Bowl after that season.

Madden 2005: Ray Lewis

Ray Lewis was one of the best defensive players in the NFL when he made the Madden 2005 cover. That season he opened the year by breaking his wrist, although, he only missed one game because of it. He failed to record and interception for the first time in his career and took a significant step back in tackles. Some could argue the curse didn't get him until the following season, when he only played in six games due to injury.

Madden 2004: Michael Vick

Michael Vick in Madden 2004, to this day, is still considered the closest thing to a "cheat code" that a sports video game has to offer. He was lighting quick and seemingly couldn't be tackled. Unfortunately, Michael Vick shattered his leg during the preseason that year and missed 11 games.

Madden 2003: Marshall Faulk

Marshall Faulk was the star do-it-all running back in the St. Louis Rams' offense which came to be known as "The Greatest Show on Turf." The season he graced the cover, he suffered a lingering ankle injury that caused him to miss two games and prevented him from rushing for 1,000 yards, a feat he would never accomplish again in his career. He was in the league for a few more seasons after that, but he posted unimpressive numbers (never rushing for more than 818 yards or playing more than 14 games in a season) before ultimately retiring.

Madden 2002: Daunte Culpepper

Daunte Culpepper was the leader of one of the NFL's most exciting and prolific offenses with Randy Moss and Chris Carter. He was a rising star in the NFL and it landed him on the Madden 2002 cover. The year prior, Culpepper had the Minnesota Vikings sitting 11-5 with 33 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Once on the Madden cover when it was released in September 2001, Culpepper took a huge step back in production, throwing 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions before leading the Vikings to a 4-7 record and suffering a season-ending knee injury.

Madden 2001: Eddie George

Eddie George was arguably the best running back in football when he was on the Madden 2001 cover. While he didn't suffer as instant of a fate as some others on this list, George fumbled the ball from a strip by Ray Lewis in the playoffs against the Baltimore Ravens that year, which was ultimately a big part of the Tennessee Titans being eliminated in that game. The following year, the injuries began for George until he retired after the 2004 season.

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