For the second straight year, a running back will grace the cover of the Madden football game. But that’s not what fans are buzzing about. They’re wondering if this year’s cover athlete will experience the same Madden Curse that last year’s—and many other Madden cover athletes—have faced.
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What’s the Madden Curse, you ask? Well, fans—and even some analysts—believe in a superstition that whoever graces the Madden cover will see their production drop. And quite significantly, at that. Some players have even worse luck, ending up injured. Just ask Christian McCaffrey, who was featured on the cover last year.
During training camp, McCaffrey dealt with calf and Achilles injuries that sidelined him for the preseason. Returning from the injury, the 49ers RB was able to play just four total games in the 2024 season before suffering a season-ending PCL injury against the Buffalo Bills. He finished with merely 202 rushing yards and failed to tally any touchdowns.
We’ve seen such a decline in performance from the Madden cover guy year after year. Mind you, CMC entered the 2024 season coming off a Super Bowl appearance and an OPOY nod.
Well, in 2025, maybe it’s time for Saquon Barkley—the new cover athlete—to carry the curse. The Eagles running back, who won a Super Bowl last year and made history with over 2,000 rushing yards, could be in big trouble. Or at least that’s what fans are saying under CMC’s video, which was merely a torch-passing moment.
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It was a congratulatory message that McCaffrey gave to his contemporary with a smile on his face. Did fans see it that way? Not at all.
“Bro, passing on the Madden curse with a smile on his face,” one user said. “Madden curse enabled…later Eagles,” another fan penned.
Another fan jokingly commented that they thought McCaffrey was going to straight up say it was his honor to pass down the continued curse.
“Straight up thought you were saying, ‘it’s my honor to pass on the madden curse,” another fan said.
Barkley had a historic season last year. In his first season in the City of Brotherly Love, he rushed for over 2,005 yards, scored 15 total touchdowns, averaged 5.8 yards per carry, and helped the Eagles win Super Bowl LIX. For his breakout season, Barkley received a two-year, $41.2 million contract extension with the Eagles that includes $36 million guaranteed.
His insane reverse hurdle over Jacksonville Jaguars DB Jarrian Jones is set to be featured on the cover of Madden NFL 26, set to release in August.
The highest-paid running back in NFL history will look to break the Madden Curse with another Super Bowl run, as his Eagles were able to maintain the winning roster from last season.
