Curse Of The Madden Cover And Victims List

Curse of Madden cover started in 1998 after Garrison Hearst graced the Madden NFL 99. Garrison sustained major injuries on his knee that year.

We are taught to not believe in superstitions, but when something is seen with your own eyes, it’s hard not to believe in it. The same goes with the Madden Curse.

There are many players whose downfall began after appearing on the cover of a video game. At the same time, some players were uninfluenced by it.

In 1988, John Madden Football, a video game series was created. Later, was changed to Madden NFL.

The video game was titled after the renowned NFL coach and commentator, John Madden. Born on the 10th of April 1936, John let the creators, EA Sports use his name.

Per Sportskeeda, 130 million copies of the video game series have already been sold out, with a collection of more than $4 billion.

What Is Madden Curse?

Curse of Madden is known as the phenomenon of a gradual or sudden decrement in the performance of athletes after appearing on the Madden cover.

Whenever a player used to appear on the cover, their career was doomed. They either suffered injuries, underperformed, or retired.

It began over two decades ago with a few exceptions. Let’s see an example of Eddie George who faced the spell:

Eddie George

In 2001 Eddie George was featured with a small logo of John. It was the first time somebody other than John occupied a larger portion of the cover of the Madden NFL video game.

George was an able running back of his time who played for the Tennessee Titans. Being the first player to grace the cover, he did not face a major curse.

However, during the playoff against the Baltimore Ravens, he mishandled the ball, causing an interception. As a consequence, the Titans lost the match.

Eddie also suffered an injury the next season. Per Bleacher Report, it marked the start of the infamous Madden NFL cover curse.

History Of The Madden Curse

Madden cover curse history dates back to the early 2000s. Garrison Hearst is often remembered as the first player to face this curse with huge intensity.

For the 2000 cover, Barry Sanders, the running back of the Detroit Lions was picked. He was present on PS3 and Xbox 360.

But Sanders decided to take retirement that year at the age of 31. It was sudden and unexpected glancing at his progressive career graph.

Because of his sudden exit, Dorsey Levens, running back of the Green Bay Packers was again chosen that year. He was on the next-gen version of the game.

Unfortunately, Dorsey began to underperform in the games, leading to his exit from the Green Bay Packers.

After that, it continued for years. Some of the players whose career was doomed supposedly due to this curse are:

  • Daunte Culpepper (Quarterback, Minnesota Vikings)
  • Michael Vick (Quarterback, Atlanta Falcons)
  • Shaun Alexander (Running back, Seattle Seahawks)
  • Troy Polamalu (Safety, Pittsburgh Steelers)

However, there are instances where players did not succumb to the curse and continued to perform similarly to their pre-Madden cover era.

  • Larry Fitzgerald (Wide receiver, Arizona Cardinals)
  • Calvin Johnson (Wide receiver, Detroit Lions)
  • Tom Brady (Quarterback, New England Patriots)
  • Patrick Mahomes (Quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs)

Is The Madden Curse Real?

Yes, the Madden Curse appears to be real. Garrison Hearst and Marshall Faulk are living proof of it.

Garrison Hearst

For the first time, a running back of the San Fransisco 49ers, Garrison was on the cover of Madden NFL 99.

Things were never the same for the promising running back who was drafted in the first round as the overall third pick.

Because of Hearst’s spectacular performance where he gained 1,570 yards and 7 touchdowns in 1988, he got that opportunity.

Little did he know, it would be the start of the downfall of his career. He went on to sustain serious injuries including one that affected his ankle very badly owing to the Madden cover jinx.

In the 1999 and 2000 seasons, Garrison did not play. Despite continuing in the 2001 season, it was never the same for him.

Marshall Faulk

Faulk was featured on the NFL Madden 2003 cover. He too sustained an ankle injury and went through a knee ligament reconstruction.

After that, he could not perform at the 2006 NFL season. Marshall was the first-round second pick of the 1994 NFL draft.

Prior to that, the Super Bowl champion was breaking records and making a good name among football fans. He recorded his name as the only player to mark 12,000 rushing yards.

The College Football Hall of Fame had to suffer the Madden Covers curse impact that was so damaging that he could never score the 1,000 yards mark ever again.

Instead of rising, his career graph declined over the years, and he finally retired in 2007.

Here is a list of players whose professional journey took a U-turn after donning the cover:

  • Ray Lewis (2005)
  • Donovan McNabb (2006)
  • Vince Young (2008)
  • Rob Gronkowski (2017)

But from the other end of the spectrum, it seems like just a coincidence. To be on the cover of such a prestigious game is a big feat.

It makes the athletes proud as well pressurized. It may be the reason behind their underperformance.

Larry Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald who was on the Madden NFL 10 cover published in 2009 seemed to be untouched by the so-called Madden football curse.

The 39-year-old wide receiver appears achieved several awards and accolades after gracing the cover. They are listed below:

  • Second-team All-Pro (2011)
  • Pro Bowl (2010-2013, 2015-2017)
  • Art Rooney Award (2014)
  • NFL receptions leader (2016)
  • NFL receptions leader (2016)
  • Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year (2016)

Madden Curse Victims

Madden Curse players are Peyton Hillis, Michael Vick, Vince Young, and Rob Gronkowski among many others. Donovan McNabb also succumbed to the spell.

Madden Curse Tom Brady

Tom Brady Madden curse never came into play. In 2018, Brady appeared on the Madden NFL 18 cover released on the 25th of August 2017.

Brady successfully dodged the curse because Tom did even better at the games after that. 

He won Super Bowl LV against the Kansas City Chiefs held on February 7, 2021. Also, he was named the MVP that season.

Brady is one of the only two players to have Super Bowl wins with different teams, New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In 2022, both Brady and Patrick Mahomes donned the Madden cover.

Peyton Hillis

Peyton Madden curse came into play the next season of gracing the Madden NFL 12. Hillis used to serve as the running back for Cleveland Browns in 2011.

He started to suffer from the curse and could not extend his contract with the Browns. In the 2011 season, he also suffered injuries on his hamstring two times.

On account of Peyton’s poor performance, he was dismissed by his previous team. Later, he joined Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the New York Giants.

Peyton had to go through a cutthroat competition with Michael Vick for the cover which came out the  25 August 2011.

Due to more votes than Vick, Hillis bagged the cover, but it turned out to be a worthless win.

Patrick Mahomes 

Patrick Mahomes Madden Curse never occurred. In 2020, Madden NFL 20 saw Mahomes as the cover athlete but he has not faced any negative effects until now.

He is the most decorated player in the National Football League at the present time. The 27-year-old has won 2 Super Bowls and became the MVP both times.

The first-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs earned the title of NFL passing touchdowns leader again in 2022. He was also the NFL Most Valuable Player both in 2018 and 2022.

Mahomes had the passing yards 182 during the last match. He has several NFL records including a career passer rating, of 105.7 and passing touchdowns in a single postseason, 11.

Madden Curse Calvin Johnson

Calvin Johnson appeared on the cover of the Madden NFL 13. The 6 feet 5 inches tall wide receiver of the Detroit Lions was an exception from the spell.

He was selected to Pro Bowl 9 times from 2010 to 2015. He made the record for the most receiving yards in a season in 1964.

Not only that, he had the most consecutive 100-yard receiving games, 8. Johnson aka the Megatron has been listed as one of the greatest wide receivers of all time by Bolavip. 

John Madden

John Madden curse began after John stopped appearing on the cover. John himself was not affected at all by the so-called curse.

Although he was recruited in the NFL in 1958, he never appeared on the field as a player owing to his knee injury.

John’s football journey is mostly remembered for his performance as a coach. The Austin, Minnesota-born John Earl Madden took the role of head coach in 1962 from Allan Hancock College.

As a linebacker coach, Earl joined the Oakland Raiders in 1967 and was promoted to Head coach in 1969.

Many recognize him as a color commentator on TV. During his career as an announcer, he was employed by esteemed media networks like NBC, ABC Sports, and Fox Sports.

Because he was so good at his job, he was honored with 12 Emmy Awards in his life. Earl passed away on the 28th of December, 2021 at the age of 85.

Is The Madden Curse Still Alive?

No, the Madden Curse is long gone. Digital Trends reported that Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahomes broke the curse.

Mahomes apparently undid the spell after he emerged victorious during the Super Bowl championship in a match against the Philadelphia Eagles with the score of 31-20.

The young QB’s football journey seems even more successful. Not only Patrick, but other players including Tom Brady remained unaffected by it.

During the earliest period of the 2000s, many players were affected. In recent years, it is not so evident, but the impact of the NFL Madden curse on previous athletes can not be ignored.

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