Each year, EA Sports awards the cover of the upcoming Madden video game. Widely accepted as an honor, there are too many examples to dismiss the curse as a myth. NBC News reports that Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is getting the nod for Madden NFL 26. It’s a well-earned selection, with 13 touchdowns and 2,005 yards in the regular season.
Just because he earned it doesn’t make it a good idea. There are plenty of examples of the Madden curse being non-fictional. The top five worst cases are listed in reverse chronological order below, hand-selected choices for Staidum Rant, from The Sporting News report. Stats confirmed via ESPN link on the player’s name. This is not a complete list, merely the five affected the most.
The most recent example is also the most similar player for Barkley to relate with. After a 2023-24 regular season that included 14 touchdowns and 1,459 yards, San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was limited to four games the following year. The honor of CMC gracing the cover upset fantasy owners worldwide. Could Barkley be the next team pillar running back to hit the shelf?
After breaking 1,100 yards in two consecutive seasons with the New England Patriots, tight end Rob Gronkowski graced the cover of Madden NFL 17. The next victim of the curse, Gronk, started just six games the following season. Including a hamstring issue, a pulmonary contusion, and a back injury, resulting in a career-low three touchdowns on the season. Is this positional great getting stifled enough to concern the 2025 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year?
While Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did not miss a game, the other half of the first player duo to be on the same cover, Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, took the hit. After starting in the Pittsburgh secondary every game in the 2008-09 season, including seven interceptions, the Hall of Famer played in just five games the following year. Perhaps Barkley should have shared the cover with the O-line?
After a career-high 64% completion rate and donning the cover, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb started the next season at a slower pace. In an injury-shortened season, he went from 31 touchdowns with eight interceptions to 16 and seven. A groin injury in Week Ten put him on the IR for the rest of the season. Is this the story of a fellow Eagle alumnus in the depths of the current running back’s mind?
After emerging onto the scene as a bona fide starter in the 2002-03 season, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick earned his turn with the Madden curse. After fracturing his fibula in the following preseason, the team was without him for 11 games. After his time in Atlanta, Vick spent five seasons with Philadelphia. Yet another Eagle affected by the curse.
End Of My Madden Curse Rant
Resurging his career the first year after leaving the New York Giants, Barkley was responsible for some of the most exciting moments last season. From leading his team to a Super Bowl championship, to a better deke than any other back has dreamt of, leaping backward, without looking, to avoid a tackle in Week Nine against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Will any player ever review this extensive history and take the trend seriously? This deserved recognition may have Eagles fans worried about the fate of their new favorite.
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