By Zach Wright
If you’re a football fan and a fan of playing video games, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ve played a Madden NFL game before. That being said, there’s also a pretty good chance that you’re aware of the unexplainable phenomenon that is the Madden Curse. If you’re not familiar with the curse of John Madden, it be summed up fairly easily. Players who grace the cover art of the video game generally are not able to reproduce their success of the previous season whether that be from injury or just poor performance. The first Madden NFL game was released in 1990 and for nine years, the cover man for the series was none other than John Madden himself. Then the curse began.
Garrison Hearst (1999)
In 1998, Garrison Hearst rushed for a career high 1,570 yards with seven touchdowns. He led the San Francisco 49ers to the playoffs and to a wildcard win over the Green Bay Packers. On the first play of the divisional round, he suffered a bad ankle injury and his team would go on to lose to the Atlanta Falcons. He would not play again until 2001.
Barry Sanders and Dorsey Levens (2000)
You would think to yourself: “Barry Sanders is one of the greatest running backs in NFL history and there’s no way a silly ‘curse’ could stop him.” You could be right, but the curse has no boundaries. In his last season, Barry Sanders rushed for just under 1,500 yards and was closing in on the all time rushing record then held by Walter Payton, but one week before training camp began in 1999, Sanders abruptly retired and ended his career with the Detroit Lions and in the NFL. Dorsey Levens was featured on the cover released in PAL (New Zealand, Europe, Australia) after Sanders’ retirement. Levens would rush for 1,034 yards in the 2000 season.
Eddie George (2001)
People point to the curse beginning for Eddie George in the 2001 AFC Divisional game with a fumble that lost the game for Tennessee. He fumbled seven times during the regular season. Though he rushed for a career highs in yards and touchdowns in 2000, he rushed for a career low in the season following the cover appearance with 939 yards and only five touchdowns due to a nagging foot injury. That season, he averaged only 3 yards per carry, and never averaged more than 3.4 YPC for the rest of his career.
Daunte Culpepper (2002)
This one hits close to home for more reason than one. Vikings’ star quarterback Daunte Culpepper threw for nearly 4,000 yards and 33 touchdowns while rushing for an additional 470 yards with seven touchdowns prior to gracing the 2002 edition of Madden. Culpepper struggled mightily in the first 11 games of the following season throwing 13 interceptions against only 14 touchdowns. A back injury in Week 11 against the Chicago Bears shortened Daunte Culpepper’s season, and he was never able to revert back to MVP form.
Marshall Faulk (2003)
Prior to making his debut as cover man for Madden, Faulk had chalked up five consecutive years of more than 1,000 yards with the final four of those rushing for more than 1,300 yards. The future Hall of Fame running back helped the “Greatest Show on Turf” make two Super Bowl appearances, but in the season following the Madden cover, Faulk suffered an ankle injury that forced him to miss five games. He would never rush for more than 1,000 yards again.
Michael Vick (2004)
In what could be argued as the worst case of the Madden Curse, Michael Vick was struck early, and often. Just FIVE days after Madden 2004 was released, which featured Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, he was injured during a preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens breaking his right fibula. Vick only appeared in five regular season games that year throwing for 585 yards and a mere four passing touchdowns, but by the time he made his season debut, the Falcons were already out of playoff contention. They would go on to finish 5-11 that year after going 9-6-1 the season prior. In April 2007, Michael Vick was arrested for an illegal dog fighting ring and pleaded guilty and served 21 months in prison followed by two months under house arrest. During that time, Vick would be cut from the Falcons.
Ray Lewis (2005)
In another first for the Madden series, Ray Lewis was the first defensive player to be featured on the cover. Lewis finished with a career high in interceptions the season prior with six, but even though interceptions are admittedly a secondary stat for linebackers, the season Lewis appeared on Madden he failed to record an interception. He finished the season with 147 tackles in 15 games played, but his Ravens team failed to make the playoffs after winning their division the season before. There are some critics that say the Ray Lewis cursed season is overblown.
Donovan McNabb (2006)
Donovan McNabb, who was chosen to be on the cover in 2006, had just led his team to the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots. McNabb threw for just shy of 4,000 yards and an impressive 31 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. He also added three rushing touchdowns. The 2005-06 season, however, was not kind to the Eagles quarterback. McNabb suffered a sports hernia but chose to play through it. In the November 14 game against the Dallas Cowboys, McNabb was hit hard after throwing an interception, re-aggravating the injury, forcing him to have season-ending surgery. Though the Eagles season was already lost at that point, they finished in last place in the NFC East with a 6-10 record.
Shaun Alexander (2007)
Where Michael Vick had possibly the worst case of the curse, the exact opposite could be said for Shaun Alexander. Alexander had one of the best statistical seasons ever in the 2005-06 season rushing for nearly 1,900 yards and scored a then record 28 total touchdowns (27 rushing). In the season following the cover appearance, Alexander, who had only missed one start in the previous 64 games, fractured the 4th metatarsal in his foot. He would miss six starts and failed to rush for 1,000 yards for the first time since 2000. His touchdown record he set the year prior was broken by San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who scored 31 touchdowns in 16 games. Alexander would not rush for 1,000 yards again and was eventually cut by the Seattle Seahawks.
Vince Young (2008)
Vince Young, then of the Tennessee Titans, suffered a quad strain after a game on October 14, 2007 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He would only miss one start that season, but the following year in the 2008-09 season, Young lost his starting job as Titans quarterback. Since then, Young failed to regain his form and had brief stints with the Eagles, Bills, Packers and Browns. In June 2014, Young retired from the NFL and said he would come out of retirement for a “guaranteed job.” He is currently working for the University of Texas.
Brett Favre (2009)
In a strange line of events, Brett Favre retired from the Green Bay Packers following a loss in the NFC Championship against the New York Giants. He was given the cover to honor a very successful career, but prior to the 2008 season, he told the Packers he wanted to play again. Already committed to their future quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and not wanting to trade him to a NFC rival, Favre was traded to the New York Jets for a conditional fourth round pick. The Jets had an 8-3 record by Week 12, but lost four of the last five games behind struggling play of their quarterback. Favre had suffered torn biceps tendon in his throwing shoulder that required surgery. He would go on to retire after the season, but it wouldn’t last long because he would announce his return to the NFL and play the 2009 and 2010 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.
Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald (2010)
In another first for Madden, and in a possible attempt to trick the curse, two players were on the cover of the 2010 edition of the game. In the opening week of the season, Polamalu suffered a sprained MCL and was out of action until he returned against division rival Cincinnati. He hurt the same MCL again and was forced to miss the rest of the season. As far as Fitzgerald is concerned, he did not get hurt seriously that season, but missed one game, and his Cardinals team missed out on the playoffs.
Drew Brees (2011)
In a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Brees injured his knee. He was forced to wear a brace, but was able to play every snap of the season. Later, in a game against the Cowboys, he was cleared to play without the brace. Later on, head coach Sean Payton admitted Brees had been playing hurt all year. They made the playoffs that year, but suffered the ultimate embarrassment losing to the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks in Seattle. Sean Payton and other coaches were banned from the NFL for a full season due to a fallout from “Bountygate” in the 2009 NFC Championship game against the Minnesota Vikings. The Saints failed to make the playoffs that 2011-12 season.
Peyton Hillis (2012)
After a breakout season in Cleveland in 2011, rushing for 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns, Hillis was given the cover to honor the breakout year. The year following, Hillis played in only 10 games and started just nine. Missing time with all sorts of injuries including strep throat, a sprained hip and a nagging hamstring injury, Hillis finished the year with only three touchdowns and under 600 yards, less than half that of the season before.
Calvin Johnson (2013)
In probably the best case against the Madden Curse, Johnson went on to record 1,964 receiving yards — a new NFL record that was previously held by Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. Calvin Johnson also set or tied NFL records for 100-yard games and receptions, proving that nothing can stop him from being one of the best wide receivers in NFL history.
Adrian Peterson (2014)
In 2012, returning from an ACL tear, Adrian Peterson was set out to prove all doubters wrong, and did. Peterson rushed for 2,097 yards — the second highest of all time and only 9 yards from the all-time record. With his Vikings team on his back, they turned a 3-13 record into 10-6, and Peterson earned a well-deserved MVP award. While Peterson’s start to 2013 kicked off with a bang, he struggled for the first half of the season because of a nagging foot injury. He ended up playing in only 14 games, and the Vikings finished the season 5-10-1.
Richard Sherman (2015)
Though Richard Sherman was virtually unaffected in the regular season, he injured his elbow late in the NFC Championship game against the Packers. Sherman underwent Tommy John surgery in the offseason. In a turn of events, not only did the curse affect Sherman, but all members of the Legion of Boom on the menu screen battled injuries in the postseason.
The 2016 edition of Madden has its new cover man. New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr beat out Rob Gronkowski in the fan vote. Only time will tell if he will be able to beat out the past, or if the Curse of Madden will claim another victim. Is it likely that there’s a curse attached to the cover person of the Madden video game? No, but it’s tough to sit there and say it’s just coincidence that players who appeared on the cover were affected in some way following their appearance.