Mahomes Announced as Madden 20 Cover Athlete
Tonight in lead up to the 2019 NFL Draft, Electronic Arts announced Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, 2018 NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year Patrick Mahomes, as the official Madden 20 cover athlete on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Origin for PC and Madden NFL Mobile. Mahomes notched a record-setting first season as a starter, becoming the only quarterback in history to throw for over 5,000 yards in one season in both college and the NFL, and the third quarterback to throw at least 50 touchdown passes in a single season. But now that he has been announced as the new face of Madden, is he cursed?
It sounds absolutely ridiculous, doesn’t it? A Madden curse? Really!?!? How could ending up on the cover of an NFL video game have anything to do with having a poor season or suffering from a crippling season-ending injury? Football is a brutal sport and many, if not all, NFL athletes at some time or another in their careers go down with an injury. Likewise, players naturally have bad years. It’s all part of the game, part of their journey in the NFL. Yet there are some inescapable facts are difficult to avoid. The reality is many who have graced the cover of EA Sports beloved NFL game have fallen to either season-ending injuries or significant injuries sidelining the player for several weeks.
It all seems comical and the Madden curse started as a joke way back when players started appearing on the cover. Running back Garrison Hearst landed on the cover back in 1999 and shortly after he broke his ankle. He remained sidelined for two seasons. Michael Vick was Madden’s 2004 cover athlete and he ended up breaking his leg in the preseason right after the game was released. The following year, 2005 cover athlete Ray Lewis for the Baltimore Ravens had his season cut short when he went down with a wrist injury a few weeks before the playoffs started. The fun didn’t stop there. In 2006, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb tore his ACL the same year he landed on the cover. Let’s fast forward to 2012 when Peyton Hillis landed on the cover. That year he went down with an injury and has never been the same player since. And of course, two years ago Gronk went down. Last year, Brady wasn’t impacted at all but that doesn’t mean the curse won’t come to haunt Patty Mahomes this year. Time will tell…
But in other good news, in addition to gracing the cover, Mahomes inspired and contributed to the development of Face of the Franchise: QB1, a brand-new and personalized career campaign in Madden NFL 20 that allows fans to create their own college quarterback to play through the College Football National Championship playoff, the NFL Combine, the NFL Draft and a career as a starting Quarterback for an NFL team. In Face of the Franchise: QB1 and traditional Franchise, a new Scenario Engine generates unique playable scenarios, events and dynamic challenges that build the story of each fan’s distinct NFL career.
Another inclusion to this year’s game is Superstar X-Factor, which brings the stars of the NFL to life as they demonstrate the unique abilities that make them the best in the game. “The team this year wanted to ensure that the superstars of the NFL responded and played differently in all aspects in Madden, just as they do on the field every Sunday – we wanted to make sure the stars felt like stars.” said Seann Graddy, Executive Producer of Madden NFL 20. In addition, fans can expect new player celebrations, run/pass option (RPO) plays and unique playbooks.
The pre-order for the Madden NFL 20: Superstar Edition is available today and fans receive numerous pre-order and Superstar Edition benefits, including 12 Gold Team Fantasy Packs, a choice of 1 out of 32 core elite players from a favorite NFL team, one small training quick sell pack in Madden Ultimate Team and a choice of one unique Legends Superstar ability for their created player in the new Face of the Franchise: QB1.*
This year Madden NFL 20 will release the Urban Symphony, a soundtrack that highlights pop culture, hip-hop music and urban lifestyle trends, while mixing in traditional musical elements of the sport (i.e. marching bands) to create an original soundtrack that truly delivers on the emotion, history and meaning of football.
Madden NFL 20 is developed in Orlando, Florida by EA Tiburon and will be available worldwide on August 2, 2019 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Origin for PC.
Source: Press Release