EA Sports recently revealed the cover of the upcoming Madden 27. The Chicago Bears’ rising star quarterback, Caleb Williams, is gracing this year’s edition. He’s the first player in the franchise’s history to do so.
Every year, talk of the “Madden curse” rears its head, but is it even real? Let’s look back at every athlete of the 2020s to earn the honor.
Ahead of the 2024 season, Saquon Barkley departed the New York Giants and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. He went on to have a historic season en route to a Super Bowl LIX victory.
Barkley’s 2,005 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns were career highs for him. He dominated the entire NFL in Philly’s offense and, in doing so, earned himself the cover of last year’s edition.
2025 saw the Eagles’ offense struggle, and Barkley’s impact was not even close to the previous season. He rushed for 1,140 yards and seven touchdowns, nearly cutting his production in half. 2,000 yards isn’t a reasonable expectation, but this kind of drop-off doesn’t break the curse.
Verdict: Cursed
Madden 25 might be the most cut-and-dried case of the Madden curse striking. The 49ers star running back was a force to be reckoned with in 2023. He rushed for league-leading 1,459 yards, along with 14 touchdowns. He also managed 564 receiving yards and seven more scores.
McCaffrey won the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year award, leading the league in scrimmage yards and total touchdowns. He graced the cover of in 2024, and subsequently suffered Achilles and calf injuries.
McCaffrey’s 2024 season only saw him play four games. He rushed 50 times for 202 yards and zero scores. He bounced back in 2025, but the curse hit hard in 2024.
Verdict: Cursed
Josh Allen came off three straight 4,000-yard seasons ahead of his time on the Madden cover. He was officially crowned as a superstar in the 2022 season and found himself in the top three QB conversations around this time.
Following his cover reveal, Allen threw for 4,306 yards and 29 touchdowns. He had another impressive season but threw a career-high 18 interceptions. The Bills made it to the Divisional round of the Playoffs.
Buffalo’s playoff run was cut short by the Kansas City Chiefs for the third time since 2020. Allen, however, went on to win the NFL’s MVP award the following year and lost again in the playoffs to Kansas City. Allen’s woes are less of a “Madden curse” and more of a “Bills curse”.
Verdict: Not Cursed by Madden
Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes graced the cover of Madden 22 together following their Super Bowl LV showdown. Brady won the matchup and his seventh Lombardi trophy in Year 1 with the Bucs. Mahomes was coming off a third 4,000-yard season and went 14-1 as a starter.
Following the Madden cover, Brady ended the 2021 season with 5,316 passing yards and 43 touchdowns, both leading the league. It was also the first time he threw for more than 40 touchdowns since his 2007 MVP season.
Mahomes went on to throw for 4,839 yards and 37 touchdowns. He also lost in the AFC Championship game to Joe Burrow’s Cincinnati Bengals. While that could be seen as a curse, he still won another NFL MVP award in 2022 and two more Super Bowl rings in 2022 and 2023.
Verdict: Not Cursed
In 2019, Lamar Jackson threw for 3,127 yards and a league-leading 36 touchdowns. He won the NFL MVP award, only the second player to win it unanimously.
2020 saw Jackson’s numbers dip, throwing for 2,757 yards and 26 touchdowns. He also threw for what was then a career high of nine interceptions, but still rushed for over 1,000 yards once again.
Verdict: Not Cursed
Mahomes’ first time gracing Madden cover came in 2019 after his breakout 2018 season. He threw for 5,097 yards and a league-leading 50 touchdowns. To top it off, he led the Chiefs to their first AFC Championship appearance since 1994.
Mahomes shattered the curse in 2019. He threw for 4,031 yards and 26 touchdowns in 14 games. He then led the team to a victory in Super Bowl LIV and won the Super Bowl MVP award.
Verdict: Not Cursed
Madden 23 was not featured on this list, as legendary NFL coach John Madden graced the cover. The game’s namesake passed away on December 28, 2021, and was honored with the cover of the following edition.
Out of the last six Madden athletes, only two have truly been cursed. 33% isn’t exactly damning, but given recent history, Williams is now in line to strike down a three-peat.
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