A receiver is the newest Madden cover star. But will he fall victim to the curse?
Less than a month from its release date, the popular EA Sports Madden NFL franchise announced the cover player for its newest installment.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown made the cover for the Madden NFL 19 video game that comes out Aug. 10.
The series, which started in 1989, began using NFL players on the cover in the late 1990s. Injuries or poor performances that followed for the upcoming season with each cover star quickly became known as the “Madden Curse.”
It started with Garrison Hearst for the 1999 game, where his season ended with a broken ankle in the 1998 playoffs. The 49ers running back missed the next two seasons.
A small sample of other “Madden Curse” incidents include:
- Dorsey Levens on the 2000 cover. Levens was limited with an injury for the Packers in 1999, and he was released two seasons later.
- Former UCF star Daunte Culpepper was hit with the Madden jinx after appearing on the 2002 cover. A quarterback for the Vikings, Culpepper was never really the same after a season-ending knee injury in 2001.
- Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb made the 2006 cover only to pick up injuries over the next two seasons, including a torn ACL in 2006.
- Steelers safety Troy Polamalu injured his MCL and PCL during the 2009 season as a co-cover athlete to the 2010 game.
However, the curse isn’t a guarantee as Larry Fitzgerald proved after sharing the cover with Polamalu in the 2010 game. Calvin Johnson (2013 game), Richard Sherman (2015 game), Odell Beckham Jr. (2016 game) and Tom Brady (last year) are examples of when the Madden jinx doesn’t hit.
Only time will tell for Antonio Brown and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Send eSports story tips to @Jason__Dill on Twitter.
This story was originally published July 18, 2018 at 11:35 AM.