What Is the Madden Cover Curse? Is It Real or Just a Coincidence?

Before the new NFL season begins, fans will get a precursor of the season in the form of a video game. Yes, Madden 25 is coming out on August 16, 2024, with new features, improved gameplay, and of course better graphics. But what about the cover art? Well, rumor is in the air that Joe Burrow might be on the cover of the game and people are not very pleased with it.

Throughout the years, athletes who have appeared on the cover art of the game have had their careers derailed sideways for some reason or the other. Is it true or is appearing on the cover of Madden some strange superstitious hex?

What is the Madden Cover Curse and what kicked it off?

It all started with the San Francisco 49ers running back Garrison Hearst, who was included on the cover of Madden 99. After being featured on the cover, Hearst led his team to the playoffs where he broke his ankle, and nothing was the same for his post then. His career started declining unexpectedly. In 1998, the RB had 1,570 yards and 7 TD seasons. His return though brought no good for the player, eventually leading him to play his last season with the Broncos in 2004, where he played just 7 games, and put up only 81 yards. His potential Hall of Fame career was derailed unanticipatedly.

Then came Madden 2000, when Barry Sanders appeared on the cover of EA Sports’ Madden. The Detroit Lions’ RB played his last season in 1998 and then chose to retire without much staunch explanation. In a rather unanticipated manner, the RB revealed no proper reasoning behind his exit, finally stating, “The reason I am retiring is simple: My desire to exit the game is greater than my desire to remain in it.”

The same thing happened to countless others including Brett Favre, the legendary Michael Vick, and even the likes of Eddie George. In the current era, the curse got to Antonio Brown, who had a falling out with the Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger and moved on to the Raiders. In his Raiders tenure, he claimed to have gotten a frostbitten foot and threatened to retire from the NFL if the league didn’t let him put on his preferred helmet of choice.

Even Patrick Mahomes was on the cover of Madden 20 and lost to Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay in the Super Bowl of the 2020 season, and it was shambolic for the Chiefs. So, what about the new Madden 25 and its expected impact on the Bengals’ QB?

Will the curse continue with Madden 25 and who will be the face of it?

There are heavy speculations that Joe Burrow will be the face of Madden 25, although it is not set in stone yet. EA Sports recently dropped a video of the photo shoot, but the video just showed a busy cameraman, not the subject of his photos. Joe Shiesty already broke his wrist last season and hardcore Bengals fans don’t want him to be on the cover.

Other fans speculate that the cover art will feature Christian McCaffrey as one of the fans commented, “It’s CMC I have inside information,” drawing eyes to the speculation. But the cover has orange hues in it which led many fans to believe that it’s someone from either the Cleveland Browns or the Cincinnati Bengals. Another fan commented on the post and said, “Sounds exactly like Joe Burrow (I’m coping)”

More details about the game are to be revealed about a week from now and it will be clear whether the Madden Curse is real or not, and most importantly, who will be the face of the new game. Who in your opinion will be on the cover this time? And how do you anticipate their 2024 season to pave out? Let us know your thoughts below.