Is the so-called “Madden curse” really an NFL thing? That’s one of the more fascinating questions among NFL fans and gamers.
Shaun Alexander, Vince Young, Daunte Culpepper, Antonio Brown, and Troy Polamalu are among the players who endured bad luck during the same season they were showcased on the Madden Cover. Whether it was injury, a decline in production, or something off the field, something went totally wrong for these former NFL stars after gracing the Madden cover.
On the flip side, however, there is no shortage of Madden cover athletes who sprinkled a dose of “nonsense” over the notion of a curse. Here is a look at 10 NFL stars who avoided the so-called Madden curse by putting together a strong season the same year they were featured on the cover.
Which NFL players played well after being featured in Madden?
Patrick Mahomes (Madden 20 & Madden 22)
So here’s the funny thing. Patrick Mahomes avoided the Madden Cover Curse not once but twice. No wonder so many people are already starting the Mahomes-Tom Brady GOAT comparisons.
After winning NFL MVP honors in 2018 — his first year as the Kansas City Chiefs’ starting quarterback — Mahomes was named the cover athlete for Madden 20.
Despite missing two games to injury in 2019, Mahomes threw for 4,031 yards and 26 touchdowns. All he did was lead the Chiefs to a Super Bowl 54 victory, too, leading them to a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback against the San Francisco 49ers.
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In fact, Mahomes’ Chiefs erased double-digit deficits in all three of their playoff games en route to the Super Bowl 54 title. With that, he also became the first player to win Super Bowl MVP in the same season he was featured on the Madden Cover.
Mahomes and Tom Brady were on the Madden 22 cover together in what was hyped as “MVP Edition.” That year, Mahomes threw for 4,839 yards and 37 touchdowns — helping the Chiefs reach their fourth straight AFC title game that ended in a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Wonder if Mahomes will ever reveal the secret antidote to the cover curse, seeing how he’s avoided it twice. So if he’s featured on the cover again down the road, Chiefs fans needn’t be afraid because good fortunes clearly await No. 15.
Tom Brady (Madden 18 & Madden 22)
After helping the New England Patriots to a thrilling comeback against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51, Tom Brady all but cemented himself as the NFL GOAT.
EA Sports placed the then-five-time Super Bowl champion on the cover of Madden 18 in what they dubbed the “GOAT Edition.”.
Brady haters could only hope that the decline was finally on. Age 40. On the cover of Madden NFL? Surely, this had to be the year where he finally unraveled, right, anti-Brady crowd?
Or not! All Brady did was complete 66.3 percent of his pass attempts for a league-leading 4,577 passing yards and 32 touchdowns against only eight interceptions en route to his third NFL MVP award.
Brady continued his magic in the postseason, leading the Patriots back to the Super Bowl. Though they fell 41-33 to the underdog Philadelphia Eagles, Brady’s performance certainly was not Madden Curse-level. He threw for 505 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.
As we noted just moments ago, Brady and Mahomes also graced the cover together for “Madden 22.” Brady led the NFL in both passing yards with 5,316 — a career-best, by the way — and 43 touchdowns.
Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to 13 wins and their first NFC South division crown in 14 years.
They narrowly lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round, but not before Brady and Mahomes became the first players to break the Madden cover curse twice in the same year.
Only the best player of this generation — Mahomes — and the GOAT in Mr. Brady could twice break the Madden Curse. Because, of course. Who else?
Calvin Johnson (Madden 13)
After setting career-highs across the board – including a league-leading 1,681 receiving yards – “Megatron” was named the cover athlete for Madden 2013.
Plenty of Detroit Lions fans were understandably worried because of the well-documented Madden NFL Curse. Johnson had just led the Detroit Lions to their first postseason appearance since 1999, so of course, it was easy for this snake-bitten franchise to have the good vibes ruined by the Madden Curse.
Well, the 2012 Lions regressed to four wins that year, but Megatron found individual immunity from the cover curse. He led the NFL with 122 receptions and 1,964 receiving yards — a single-season record that still stands over a decade later.
2012 also marked the only year in his Hall of Fame career where Johnson hit the 100-yard mark. Did we mention the single-season record of 1,964 receiving yards? Yep, that’s how you avoid the cover curse, folks.
Megatron would easily cross the 1,000-yard mark in each of his final NFL seasons, too, even helping the Lions back to the postseason again in 2014. The Lions may be victims of the so-called “Bobby Layne Curse,” but Johnson himself suffered no curse whatsoever.
Eddie George (Madden 2001)
The four-time Pro Bowler and star Tennessee Titans running back may as well be honored as the first player to avoid the Madden Curse.
The 1996 Offensive Rookie of the Year actually had a career year in 2000 after being showcased on the cover of Madden 2001. He finished with 1,509 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns — both career bests.
That also marked George’s fifth straight of over 1,200 yards rushing.
The Titans also finished as the top seed in the AFC with a 13-3 record, but the defending conference champs were upset by Ray Lewis’ Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round.
Nonetheless, George remained productive and had two more 1,000-yard seasons before retiring after the 2004 season. Nice try, Madden cover curse.
Ray Lewis (Madden 2005)
For some reason, a lot of folks place Ray Lewis in the category of Madden Curse victims. A closer look at the stats, however, would tell you the complete opposite.
Now, Lewis’ 2004 season wasn’t as jaw-dropping as the 2003 campaign that saw him pick up his second Defensive Player of the Year Award. But the Baltimore Ravens icon still earned Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro nods after tallying 147 combined tackles, one sack, six pass breakups, and one forced fumble.
It was actually the 2005 season – the year Madden ‘06 was released — where Lewis caught a bad break. He missed all but six games that year due to injury, having required season-ending surgery on a torn right hamstring.
What we can tell you, though, is that Madden ‘06 cover athlete — Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb — wasn’t as lucky as Lewis. McNabb required season-ending groin surgery after playing nine games. Not to mention that teammate Terrell Owens quit on the Eagles mid-season and never played for the team again.
Also Read: NFL Fans Think They Know Who The Madden 25 Cover Athlete Is After Uncovering Major Clue
Odell Beckham Jr. (Madden 16)
Despite missing four games in his 2014 rookie year, OBJ racked up 91 receptions for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns en route to Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. That year, of course, was highlighted by the improbable one-handed TD grab on Sunday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys.
After his phenomenal rookie year, the New York Giants’ star wideout was named the Cover athlete for Madden 16. And let’s just say the LSU product proved that 2014 wasn’t beginner’s luck…and that the Madden Curse, indeed, goes on hiatus every so often.
In the 2015 season, Beckham racked up 96 receptions for 1,450 yards and 13 touchdowns, with the latter two marking his personal bests. OBJ was also named to the Pro Bowl and picked up his first career second-team all-pro nod.
Beckham’s 1,450 receiving yards placed him fifth in the NFL that year, even though he wound up missing one game. So eat that, Madden Curse!
Richard Sherman (Madden 15)
By the conclusion of the 2013 season, Richard Sherman had established himself as the best cornerback in the game.
The leader of the Seahawks’ Legion of Boom played a pivotal role in helping Seattle win the franchise’s first Super Bowl in the 2013 campaign. Sherman had earned his first Pro Bowl nod as well as the second of three First-team all-pro selections.
So it was only fitting to put the all-world shutdown corner on the cover of Madden 15. Additionally, this made him the first defensive player to be featured on the Madden cover since Madden 2010 — which featured both Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald.
Sherman had another lights-out season in 2014, recording four interceptions, eight pass breakups, and one forced fumble en route to his third straight First-team All-Pro selection.
Seattle went on to reach Super Bowl 49 again, where they wound up losing to Tom Brady’s New England Patriots. You can cite the Malcolm Butler goal line interception off Russell Wilson as the “Madden Curse”, but Sherman’s five-star performance throughout the entire season means he avoided the bad luck from an individual perspective.
Drew Brees (Madden 11)
After leading the New Orleans Saints to their first Super Bowl championship in the 2009 season, the SB 45 MVP became the first player in franchise history to grace the cover of the Madden NFL video game franchise.
Now, Brees did throw a career-high 22 interceptions during the 2010 season. But to call him a victim of the Madden Curse is total rubbish. Brees led the NFL with a 68.1 completion percentage and tossed 4,620 passing yards — third most in the NFL that year.
Brees’ 33 TD passes were also tied with Peyton Manning for second-most in the league, behind only Tom Brady’s 36. Brees was named to the Pro Bowl again and helped the defending champs to an 11-win season and Wild Card Berth, though they were upset by the 7-win Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card Rond.
And for those chalking up the “BeastQuake” loss to the Madden Curse, here is a nice reminder that Brees threw for 404 yards and two touchdowns in that game. So don’t be silly. This man avoided the Madden Curse, thank you very much.
Lamar Jackson (Madden 21)
Lamar Jackson won NFL MVP honors in 2019 after throwing a league-leading 36 touchdown passes while racking up 1,206 rushing yards — the most ever for a quarterback in a single season.
So it’s easy to understand why Baltimore Ravens fans were nervous upon learning that Jackson would be on the cover for Madden 21. I mean, what could possibly go wrong after he put together the greatest single season for a quarterback in franchise history?
Fortunately for Baltimore fans, the dual-threat QB danced his way around to evade the Madden Curse during the 2020 season. Though he missed one game, Jackson still completed 64.4 percent of pass attempts for 2,757 yards, 26 touchdowns, and nine interceptions to go along with 1,005 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
Jackson also picked up the first postseason win of his career when the Ravens defeated the rival Tennessee Titans on Wild Card Weekend. Their season ended with a loss to the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round, but Jackson’s performance that year was clear-cut proof that the Madden Curse had nothing on him.
Larry Fitzgerald (Madden 10)
Blown away by the thrill of Super Bowl 43 between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals, Madden developers decided to take an interesting route: They featured both Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald on the cover of Madden 10.
The Steelers’ superstar safety was undoubtedly an unfortunate victim of the Madden Curse. He suffered a pair of knee injuries and missed all but five games in 2009, as the defending champion Steelers failed to make the postseason for the first time in the Mike Tomlin era.
But the Arizona wideout did his part to avoid the double-whammy Madden 10 cover curse.
In the 2009 season, Fitzgerald racked up 97 receptions for 1,092 yards and a league-leading 13 touchdowns. Those 13 TD receptions were a personal best for Fitzgerald, who went on to earn Pro Bowl and second-team all-pro honors.
Fitzgerald also guided the Redbirds to a second straight NFC West division crown. They defeated Aaron Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers in an all-time thrilling Wild Card Round victory before losing to New Orleans in the Divisional Round.
Hire the best detectives and private investigators if you will. However, there is zero evidence to show that Fitzgerald and his Cardinals were struck by the Madden Curse during the 2009 season.
