The Madden Curse, once a small anomaly discussed occasionally in football discourse, is now incredibly mainstream and discussed heavily. This is especially prevalent in online circles. The belief in the Madden Curse has gotten so widespread that many fans were actively hoping that their favorite players would not be chosen. Being the cover athlete of the number one (and only) simulation style NFL football game should be a celebration of the player’s accomplishment. But when Bears QB Caleb Williams was named cover athlete for Madden 27, the main people celebrating were Packers, Vikings, and Lions fans. For those unfamiliar with the Madden Curse, it’s really as simple as the cover athlete on Madden typically seems to have an injury-riddled or otherwise down season after being named the cover athlete. I’m going to go over every Madden cover athlete to find out once and for all whether or not the Madden Curse is something that’s really happening.

Each cover athlete will be categorized as Cursed, Not Cursed, or On the Fence based on their individual performance and health during the season after they appear on the cover.

One extra note for clarity: Madden numbers their games a bit oddly. Madden 27 is announced and will be coming out in 2026, prior to the 2026-2027 (often called just 2026) season. For example, this means a player on the cover of Madden 05 earned the honor based on their 2003 season prior to the beginning of the 2004 season.

1988-2000, 23: John Madden – Not Cursed

Before they began putting current athletes on the cover, John Madden was fittingly on the cover of every iteration of John Madden Football. As far as the curse goes, there isn’t much to talk about here. John Madden was one of the most well respected coaches and broadcasters in the NFL. His coaching career ended 10 years prior to the debut of Madden video games. He coached the Raiders to 7 division titles in 10 years, never finished with a losing record, and won Super Bowl XI. During his time on the cover, he was a highly regarded broadcaster with CBS and FOX. Madden passed away in 2021 but leaves behind a lasting legacy with Madden NFL video games and a tribute on the Thanksgivings broadcasts every year. He returned to the cover following his death in 2021 on Madden 23, but this was done as a tribute, I’m not really taking it into account.

1999: Garrison Hearst – Cursed

49ers RB Garrison Hearst became the first athlete to appear on the cover when he appeared on the international version of the game instead of John Madden for Madden 1999. He earned the honor coming off a 1019 yard season in 13 games with 4 touchdowns. While this is a good season, this doesn’t scream cover athlete on its own. This is because the European version of the game actually released in January of 1999, after the 1998 regular season had already concluded. In this season Hearst broke out, rushing for over 1500 yards, and adding a career high 535 receiving yards in the process. Hearst made his first pro bowl and was primed to help lead the 49ers on a playoff run. This did not happen though, as shortly after gracing the Madden cover, Hearst suffered a gruesome ankle injury early in their playoff game against the Falcons. This injury not only ended his season and playoff run, but held Hearst out of the next 2 entire seasons. Football Reference lists the injury as “avascular necrosis” which is essentially the death of bone tissue. When Hearst finally returned in 2001 he was a pro bowler and won Comeback Player of the Year. This injury marked the beginning of the Madden Curse, especially with its proximity to when he was first put on the cover.

2000: Barry Sanders – On the Fence

The main 2000 cover was still John Madden, but Barry Sanders featured heavily on the box art, marking the transition towards true cover athletes. Sanders earned the honor coming off his 1491 yard 1998 season. While not his best season, he was coming off 10 pro bowls and 10 all-pro 1st/2nd teams in his first 10 seasons. Despite this, the Lions RB retired surprisingly prior to the 1999 season, and never played another game after Madden 2000 came out. Less so a curse, as this was his own decision, football fans didn’t see it that way. The first two players on Madden covers had not played during the season they were on the cover for. I went with on the fence because he wasn’t truly the cover athlete and also it was his own decision to retire.

2001: Eddie George – Not Cursed

2001 marked the beginning of the true cover athlete era that has lasted until at least Madden 27. The Titans RB was honored following a Pro Bowl season where he rushed for 1300 yards. George had his career best season in 2000 though, rushing for over 1500 yards and 14 TDs, good for All Pro 1st Team and a 3rd place MVP finish. George’s career fell off a bit after that as he continued to age, but his season following his Madden cover appearance was definitely not cursed.

2002: Daunte Culpepper – Cursed

Culpepper was a Pro Bowler in 2000, throwing for almost 4000 yards in what was essentially his rookie season after he “redshirted” the year prior. This made him the first QB to appear on the cover. The next season he threw 13 interceptions to just 14 touchdowns, had under 3000 yards and only played in 11 games due to injury. Meanwhile, the Vikings went just 4-7 in games started by Culpepper. With a combination of poor performance and injury, this is the season that truly put the Madden Curse on the map early on.

2003: Marshall Faulk – Cursed

After 2001, Faulk was coming off of 4 straight 1300 yard seasons and was a prime choice for the Madden Cover. Unfortunately, that would be his last 1000 yard season. He had just 953 yards and 8 TDs in 2002. He also started just 10 games, due to an ankle injury. He was named to the Pro Bowl that season still, but he didn’t put up Pro Bowl stats, and never would again following his appearance on the Madden cover.

2004: Michael Vick – Cursed

2002 Michael Vick threw for 2900 yards and added 777 with his feet. Vick’s playstyle was an outlier at this point in history and he was an obvious choice for a video game cover. In 2003 though, Vick broke his leg in the preseason and played just 5 games. It’s a misconception that Vick’s prison time was immediately following him being on the madden cover, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have a cursed season.

2005: Ray Lewis – On the Fence

Ray Lewis became the first defender featured on the Madden cover prior to the 2004 season. Stats for linebackers don’t always tell a great story, but in this case 6 interceptions alone tells you he probably had a pretty good season. His 2004 season, following his time on the cover, was a good season. He was once again all pro 1st-team. He did get hurt late in the season though, ending the season prematurely, which lends itself to the Curse. The injury didn’t cause him to miss a ton of time in an otherwise successful season.

06: Donovan McNabb – Cursed

McNabb’s 5th straight pro bowl season led to him gracing the cover. He went 13-2 in his starts and had 3875 yards. The next year he was just 4-5, but had over 2500 yards in 9 games before a season ending knee injury cost him the rest of his season. He had good yardage stats but was not winning games and then suffered a season ending injury, classic Madden Curse.

07: Shaun Alexander – Cursed

In 2005, Alexander won MVP with 1880 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns. He was an obvious choice for the madden cover accolade. In 2006 though, he played just 10 games due to a midseason injury. He never rushed for 1000 yards again in his career.

08: Vince Young – Not Cursed

Vince Young won Rookie of the Year in 2006. He had 2199 yards but threw more interceptions than touchdowns. He also added over 500 rushing yards. The following season he had more yards but threw 17 interceptions to just 9 touchdowns. He also missed a game due to injury. Young is a hard case because he didn’t really have a superstar season before being the cover athlete. His 2007 season was maybe a little worse than his rookie season, but doesn’t feel like a Madden curse.

09: Brett Favre – On the Fence

Brett Favre, donning a Packers jersey, made the cover of Madden 09 despite being retired by the time of the announcement. He was a pro bowler with over 4000 yards the season prior, but still made an interesting choice for cover athlete. Even more interesting, Favre came out of retirement and played for the Jets in 2008 instead. He had a pro bowl season while leading the league in interceptions, which isn’t exactly out of the norm for Brett Favre. He did play through an injury down the stretch, leading to the Jets missing the playoffs. Favre didn’t have a bad season, but the Jets did. He got hurt but didn’t miss games. I ultimately am on the fence as to whether or not this season should be considered cursed. I think the whole retirement and playing in a different jersey pushes it at least to on the fence.

10: Troy Polamalu & Larry Fitzgerald – Cursed & Not Cursed

Madden 10 had 2 cover athletes, but we’re gonna start with Polamalu. He had 7 interceptions in 2008, which made him a fitting choice for a cover athlete, especially after facing off in the Super Bowl against his fellow cover athlete. In 2009 he had 3 interceptions in just 5 games but would suffer a gruesome knee injury that some thought would end his career. It didn’t end his career, but it did end his season.

Fitzgerald was 1st team all-pro in 2008 and led his team to the Super Bowl where they fell to Polamalu and the Steelers. This made for a great dual cover athlete for Madden 10. Fitzgerald in 2009 was as consistent as ever. His yards took a slight hit but he led the league with 13 touchdowns. He also played through some injuries, but missed no time. This is a clean, not cursed season.

11: Drew Brees – Not Cursed

Brees threw for over 4000 yards in 2009, earning him a spot on the cover. He remained incredibly consistent in 2010, putting up more yards and 1 less touchdown. The closest thing this season had to being cursed was a wild card round loss to the 7-9 Seahawks. Brees himself, however, was not cursed.

12: Peyton Hillis – On the Fence

Hillis had a breakout year for the Browns in 2010, rushing for 1177 yards and 11 touchdowns after putting up just 54 yards for the Broncos the year prior. While the season was good, he was not a pro bowler or all-pro and had just 1 productive season. Despite this, he won a fan vote bracket to become the Madden cover athlete. Hillis played just 10 games due to nagging injuries and ended with just 587 yards. He would start just 3 games after this season, none of which were for the Browns. Injuries and decreased play are classic curse indicators so far, but with Hillis the pedigree and expectations just aren’t there to make me think this was out of the ordinary.

13: Calvin Johnson – Not Cursed

Megatron lead the league in yards and earned his first All-Pro in 2011. He was a perfect choice for cover athlete and he avoided the curse. Johnson’s 2012 is one of the best WR seasons ever where he put up over 1900 yards and played all 16 games. Definitely not cursed.

25 (2014): Adrian Peterson – On the Fence

First, there was also a cover with hall of famer Barry Sanders. We’ve already talked about Barry, and he was well retired by this point, so I’m not including this cover. As for Adrian Peterson, he had over 2000 rushing yards and won MVP. This was easily enough to earn him a spot on the cover. Peterson had a good season in 2013, but missed a few games and eventually all but 1 game in 2014. He had 1200 yards and was placed on all-pro 2nd team. It was a good, not other-worldly season with some injury problems that poured into the next season. I’m on the fence on this one.

15: Richard Sherman – Not Cursed

Sherman led the league with 8 interceptions in 2013 while being a vocal leader in the 49ers locker room. His 2014 season wasn’t quite as good but it was still enough for All-Pro 1st team. He got injured in the NFC championship but played through it and waited to get surgery until after the Super Bowl. While the manner in which they lost the Super Bowl may seem cursed, nothing about Sherman’s season fits the bill.

16: Odell Beckham Jr. – Not Cursed

Odell had a great rookie season in 2014, winning Rookie of the Year and putting up 1300 yards. The real reason he got the cover spot so quickly though, comes down to one play. The one handed catch he made as a rookie is one of the more memorable plays of the generation and lent itself well to appearing on the cover of Madden 16. He had some hamstring questions and served a suspension but played 15 games and amassed 1450 yards in 2015. He was not bitten by the Madden Curse.

17: Rob Gronkowski – Cursed

Gronkowski put up 1100 yards as a TE in 2015. Not exactly the healthiest player up to this point, Gronk played in 15 games to put together a season worthy of the Madden cover. Unfortunately, lightning didn’t strike twice, and in 2016 he battled 3 different injuries that eventually caused him to start just 6 games, appearing in 8. He put up the lowest yard total of his career in 2016 and missed out on awards. While Gronkowski injuries were not a surprise, going from best season to worst season after appearing on the madden cover has got to count as a cursed season.

18: Tom Brady – Not Cursed

Brady actually had a down year in terms of yards in 2016, but finished 2nd in the MVP race. Tom Brady is a deserving candidate for the Madden cover in any year, and the fact that it took this long is actually surprising. In 2017, Brady was even better, leading the league in yards and winning MVP. His season was amazing, but if you are looking for a curse here, he did lose to Nick Foles and the Eagles in the Super Bowl.

19: Antonio Brown – Not Cursed

AB led the league with over 1500 yards in 2017 and was on the All-Pro 1st team. He was a big personality on a successful team and was a somewhat obvious choice to don the cover. 2018 AB started to have some controversy in what would be his last year in Pittsburgh. He did have fewer yards but he led the league in Touchdowns in 2018. His career and public image may have fallen apart directly after, but his 2018 season itself was not cursed.

20: Patrick Mahomes – Not Cursed

After sitting for all but 1 game of his rookie season in 2017, Mahomes came out and won MVP in 2018. He had over 5000 yards and 50 touchdowns and was an obvious choice for the Madden cover. In 2019 he took a statistical step back, which was almost guaranteed based on how absurd his numbers were the year prior. 4031 yards, 26 touchdowns, and only 14 games played kept him out of the MVP race. He suffered 2 different injuries during the year, but played through them for the most part and won the Super Bowl, so it’s tough to call this anything other than not cursed.

21: Lamar Jackson – Not Cursed

Like Mahomes, Lamar won MVP in his first full season, with over 3000 yards, 36 touchdowns, and 1200 more yards added on the ground. His 2020 season was a slight regression in all facets, but nothing out of the ordinary. He did catch COVID and play through a knee injury, but this isn’t a cursed season for Lamar.

22: Patrick Mahomes & Tom Brady – Not Cursed & Not Cursed

I decided to combine this entry since we’ve already discussed both players. Mahomes and Brady met in the Super Bowl in 2020 and both threw over 4600 yards while being the faces of the league. It was a fitting dual-cover. Both stayed healthy all season in 2021 and had great seasons. Neither was cursed in 2021.

24: Josh Allen – Not Cursed

With Madden 23 returning to John Madden on the cover, we move onto Madden 24. He was in MVP conversations in 2022 and was a fitting cover athlete the next year. Allen wasn’t a pro bowler in 2023, but finished 5th in MVP voting. He did lead the league in turnovers though and had a somewhat down season. He stayed healthy though and didn’t really hurt his reputation in the league off this one season. I’m going with not cursed.

25 (2025): Christian McCaffrey – Cursed

McCaffrey won Offensive Player of the Year in 2023 dominating both on the ground and through the air in his first full season in San Francisco. He was fantasy football’s best player by a huge margin and surprised no one when he appeared on the cover of Madden 25. CMC has shown some durability concerns of his own in the past but his 2024 was truly a lost year. He played in just 4 games due to 2 separate injuries. The 49ers went just 6-11 on the season as well. In the modern era, this is what revived the idea of the Madden Curse.

26: Saquon Barkley – On the Fence

Barkley as the cover athlete couldn’t have been more obvious following his 2024 season. He rushed for over 2000 yards, flirted with the all time record, and hurdled someone in reverse in the process. While no one expected him to repeat his 2000 yard performance, what we got in 2025 was underwhelming. It was his worst fully healthy season of his career and he seemed to have clearly lost a step. Team success and morale were not there either, leading this to feel like a cursed season. In the end though, he still had 1000 yards and remained healthy so I’m going with On the Fence.

27: Caleb Williams – TBD

Caleb Williams led the Bears to their best season in some time and broke out while doing it. With that being said, he failed to reach 4000 yards, was not a pro bowler, and did not make the Super Bowl. He wouldn’t have been my first choice for cover athlete, but it makes sense as he is a very popular player on the rise. He has shown no durability concerns in the past and is set up well in 2026. No matter what else happens, Caleb Williams giving the Bears their first 4000 yard passer would get him a Not Cursed, but only time will tell.

Conclusion

First things first, I don’t believe the Madden cover is actually cursed. I understand why the idea of the curse existed after the early history of Madden cover athletes. I also understand why the hype over the Madden Curse died down after so many “Not Cursed” seasons. With sports social media exploding and back-to-back somewhat cursed seasons though, the discourse around the Madden Curse remains. In the end I get 9 cursed seasons, 15 not cursed seasons, and 6 on the fence seasons. If you count all 6 on the fence seasons it’s still only 50%. This was a fun exercise and trip through memory lane, but let’s not pretend like EA Sports has doomed the city of Chicago.