Exploring the Madden Cover Jinx

If you’re a football fan, chances are you’re probably a fan of the Madden NFL game series. Regardless of the platform, Madden is hands down the best football video game in the world. Each season, fans flock to get their hands on a brand new Madden game. For many, it’s more than a game, it’s a tradition.

Prior to 1999, each installment of Madden featured John Madden on the cover. In 1999, EA chose Garrison Hearst to appear on the cover and have since chosen elite players to be on the annual cover.

Any player would be honored to be on the cover of the popular game, but history has shown this honor typically comes with a bit of bad luck. While it’s easy to play it off as a coincidence, a high percentage of players featured have never been the same after.

In 2007, a large group of LaDainian Tomlinson fans, who believed in the Madden Curse, were strongly opposed to EA Sports’ initial decision to feature him on the 2008 cover. One fan even created SaveLTfromMadden.com. Tomlinson later declined the offer due to contract negotiatons.

Lets take a look at each of the players represented be the Madden Cover and explore how they performed.

1999 – Garrison Hearst

Garrison Hearst was the first player to grace the cover of Madden and had a strong regular season, rushing for 1570 years and 7 touchdowns during the 1998 season. However, in a playoff loss to the Falcons, he sustained a serious ankle ailment which led to him missing 2 seasons and not returning until 2001.

2000 – Barry Sanders/Dorsey Levins

Barry Sanders rushed for 1491 yards in 1998. He was supposed to be on the cover of the 2002 Madden, but decided to retire before the season started. Dorsey Levins was selected as the replacement since he ran for 1034 years and had 10 touchdowns the year prior. After appearing on the cover, Levins rushed for 224 yards with just 3 touchdowns. We’ve hardly heard a peep from Barry Sanders since his retirement.

2001 – Eddie George

Following his 2000 season where he ran 1509 yards and scored 16 touchdowns, Eddie George ran for just 939 yards, scoring 5 touchdowns.

2002 – Daunte Culpepper

After a stellar year where he threw for 3937 yards, ran for 470 and scored a total of 40 touchdowns, Culpepper missed 5 weeks with an injured knee and finished with 2612 passing yards, 416 rushing yards and 19 total touchdowns, while throwing 23 interceptions and breaking the record for most fumbles in a season. He eventually blew out both knees in 2005 and 2006 and was never the same.

2003 – Marshall Faulk

Marshall Faulk, considered one of the best running backs of all-time, injured his ankle missing 2 games and missed the 1000 mark for the first time since 1996. His yards per carry went on a steady decline. He never registered another 1000 yard rushing season, only started 21 out of 32 games from 2002 and 2003, then underwent reconstructive surgery in 2005, which was the year he retired.

2004 – Michael Vick

After breaking his fibula in a preseason contest, Michael Vick missed 11 games in the regular season, finishing with 585 yards passing, 255 yards rushing and just 5 touchdowns.

2005 – Ray Lewis

In 2005 Ray Lewis became the first defensive player to make the Madden cover. He broke his wrist and had a decline in interceptions, from 6 the year prior to none. In 2005, he missed 10 starts due to injuries.

2006 – Donovan McNabb

Donovan McNabb led the Eagles to the Super Bowl and was featured on the 2006 Madden cover. However, following a hernia suffered in week 1, McNabb made only 9 starts. In 2006, he missed another 6 games when he tore the ACL and meniscus in his right knee.

2007 – Shaun Alexander

Following a monster MVP year with 1880 yards rushing and 28 touchdowns, Shaun Alexander missed 6 games in 2006 due to a foot injury. He missed the 1000 yard rushing mark for the first time since 2000. He then went on a steady decline.

2008 – Vince Young

Per Wikipedia, “When Young appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live to officially announce that he would appear on the cover of Madden NFL 2008, he derided allegations of becoming the curse’s next victim, and stated, “I’ve done prayed about it and we’re gonna go home and try to get to the playoffs and try to get to the Super Bowl. We’ll see what happens.” However, after making the cover of the 2008 Madden game, Vince Young had more turnovers than touchdowns, 20 to 12.

2009 – Brett Favre

Brett Favre was featured on the cover of Madden in 2009 in a Packers uniform, as we were under the impression that he was retired. However, shortly after he came out of retirement and was traded to the Jets. EA then issued a new cover. He led the league in interceptions with 22, admitted that he had a biceps injury and an overall decline in his performance.

2010 – Larry Fitzgerald & Troy Polamalu

The 2009 Madden cover featured 2 players for the first time. Larry Fitzgerald wasn’t effected (13 touchdowns), but Troy Polamalu missed 11 games with a sprained MCL. After returning to the field, he then injured his posterior cruciate ligament.

2011 – Drew Brees

Drew Brees was Superman in 2009, paving the way to the Saints having a monster season and winning the Superbowl. So far this season, Brees still looks like Drew Brees. He has 6 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 857 passing yards and a 107 QB rating. Will the curse effect his performance?