Earlier this week in what was the final showdown to be crowned the new face of Madden NFL 16, New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. defeated New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. At only 22, Beckham is the youngest player to ever have his mug on the cover of Madden. Busting on the scene last year making one spectacular catch after another a video of OBJ making one-handed grabs during warm-ups went viral. He’s a legitimate NFL stud and one that will be drafted high in nearly all NFL fantasy leagues this summer. But before you go ahead and pencil him in as your starting wide receiver on your fantasy team, you might want to pause for a few seconds. Maybe you should reconsider that pick as Beckham is looking squarely at a fate that has fallen on so many other NFL’ers who has landed on the cover before him.
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“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.”  Â
I know, it sounds absolutely ridiculous doesn’t it? I mean 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 and I get that. Yet 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.
Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks bucked the trend last year when he managed to suit up for all 16-regular season games; however, I was at the game where he badly hurt his elbow in the NFC Championship. Sure, he never missed any time as a result of the injury and played in the Super Bowl. So you could say he went against the odds and proved the curse wrong. Yet his injury was serious to the point Tommy John surgery was recommended and the Seahawks did lose the Super Bowl because of a highly questionable play call. Not to mention nearly every member of the Legion of Boom (featured in the games main menu) suffered some kind of injury. So you could argue the curse struck again.
It all seems comical and guess what, it all 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 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.
The Madden curse isn’t all about the injuries either. The curse seems to extend to player performance and unexpected retirements. Take Barry Sanders for instance. Shortly after he appeared on the 2000 cover, Sanders abruptly retired before training camp. He fell just short of the record for most career rushing yards. Brett Favre was featured on the cover of Madden NFL 09 as Green Bay Packer just after he retired. That year he came out of retirement and was traded to the New York Jets, where he stunk up the joint and had a little issue where he was exposed for sending his junk via a text message to a reporter….Oh Brett.
Like a stack of dominos almost every one of the Madden cover athletes has fallen to some kind of fate. Whether it be injuries, poor performance or just plain bad luck, Madden cover athletes all seem doomed. Odell Beckham Jr is one of the brightest young stars in the NFL. He is flashy and an incredible talent. It would be a shame if something happened to him. Yet if the past is any predictor of the future, he’s in for a rough season.
What do you think? Is the Madden curse for real? Let us know in the comments below.