How real is the 'Madden Curse'? (2024)

2016: Gronkowski, troubled by a bad back as his latest injury to frustrate fantasy football owners, playedin only eightgames before he wasput on IR, producing just 25 catches for 540 yards and 3 TDs. Although Gronk was coming off two awesome full seasons, his durability issues resurfaced in the worst way.

Curse verdict:The Patriots were able to roar back and win Super Bowl 51 without his offensive services, but there's no doubt Gronkwas individually cursed.

2015: Beckham builton his monster rookie season with even bigger production: 96 catches for 1,450 yards and 13 TDs. Other than that little tiff with Josh Norman, he was a fantasy football Giant.

Curse verdict: No curse.

2014: Sherman hurt his elbow in the NFC championship game, but it didn’t keep him out of the Super Bowland obviously didn’t impact fantasy owners.

Curse Verdict: No curse.

2013: Peterson hurt his foot early in Week 14, essentially forcing him out of three games (he was inactive in two subsequent contests) during the fantasy season’s most important stretch. However, he still totaled 1,437 yards and scored 11 touchdowns.

Curse Verdict: Awful timing on the injury, but it’s hard to claim curse with those numbers. No curse.

*Barry Sanders was also featured on his own Madden NFL 25 covers.

2012: Johnson transformed the game with his 122-catch, 1,964-yard, five-TDperformance, making it cool to draft a wide receiver in the first round.

Curse Verdict: No curse.

2011: Hillis was a shell of himself after a breakout 2010, missing a number of games due to various ailments,including strep throat. Following his dismal campaign, Hillis essentially admitted to being cursed:“Things didn’t work in my favor this year. There’s a few things that happened this year that made me believe in curses. Ain’t no doubt about it.”

Curse Verdict: Maybe Hillis just was notgood, but we’ll chalk up a "W" for the Madden Curse on this one.

2010: Aside from doubling his interceptions from 11 to 22, Brees delivered a very strong 2010 with 4,620 yards and 33 touchdowns. The Saints fell victim to the first documented “Beastquake,”but that didn’t hurt fantasy owners.

Curse Verdict: No curse from a fantasy perspective.

2009: Polamalu was limited to five games due to various injuries, killing any value that fantasy owners in IDP leagues were expecting. Fitzgerald, on the other hand, posted a strong 97-1,092-13 line in 16 games, leading the Cardinals to the postseason.

Curse Verdict: The “Madden Curse” was 1-for-2 in 2009, but it claimed the player of less fantasy importance.

2008: Favre was retired when the decision was made to feature him on the cover. But, of course, in typical Favre fashion, he returned and was traded to the Jets. Also in typicalFavre fashion, he threw a ton of picks, failing to lead the Jets to the playoffs in the process.

Curse Verdict: Favre certainly wasn’t good from a fantasy perspective, but the people most affected were Jets and, ironically, Patriots fans, who needed the Jets to beat the Dolphins in Week 17 to earn a trip to the playoffs. As far as this exercise goes, though ... no curse.

2007: With 2,546 yards passing, 395 yards rushing and 12 total touchdowns, it’s arguable that Young had his best season as a pro. He did throw 17 picks,though.

Curse Verdict: Onecan argue Young’s appearance on the cover cursed his entire career, but it’s far more likely that Young wasn’t good in the first place. No curse.

2006: Coming off a landmark season in which he totaled over 1,900 yards and 28 touchdowns, Alexander delivered a dud while missing six games.

Curse Verdict: No “Madden Curse” here, believe it or not. Thecredit —if you want to call it that —goes to another fantasy football curse, the "Curse of 370."Alexander carried the rock 370 times in 2005, dooming his '06 before it even started.

2005: McNabb only played nine games thanks to a torn ACL and meniscus in his right knee. He finished that season with 2,507 passing yards,17 total touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Curse Verdict: The “Madden Curse” takes the blame here.

2004: Lewis missed a game, but he still racked up 100 solo tackles and was credited with 146 total stops.

Curse Verdict: No curse.

2003: Vick broke his fibula in a preseason game and was limited to five contests in what was supposed to be his breakout season.

Curse Verdict: Vick absolutely fell victim to the “Madden Curse.”Of course, onecould also just argue that running quarterbacks are more susceptible to injury.

2002: The 2002 season wasn’t a complete bust for Faulk, though it was a far cry from the monster numbers he was posting in years prior. His fantasy owners had to “settle” for 1,490 total yards and 10 touchdowns in 14 games. However, it’s likely that his 80 receptions were largely wasted at a time when PPR leagues weren’t as popular.

Curse Verdict: Faulk was at the tail end of his prime in '02, but he still posted very useful numbers. The drop from '01 was steep, which hurt fantasy owners who usedfirst-round selections on him. There is some “Madden Curse” residue on this case, but not enough to be scared of it.

2001: Culpepper only played 11 games (knee) after a breakout 2000. He totaled 19 touchdowns, but that was offset by 20 turnovers.

Curse Verdict: Culpepper was a victim of the “Madden Curse."

2000: George was a workhorse, carrying the rock 403 times for 1,509 yards andadding 453 yards on 50 receptions (not including the postseason). And, yeah, he also scored 16 touchdowns.

Curse Verdict: George was next to useless in 2001, averaging 3.0 yards per carry and scoring five times in 16 games. That has nothing to do with the Madden cover,though, and everything to do with the irresponsible workload he shouldered the season prior.

1999: Barry Sanders retired following the 1998 season, but not before he was featured in the background of the Madden NFL 2000 cover.

Curse Verdict: There’s no curse here. If you ended up with Barry Sanders on your roster in 1999, that’s on you.

1998: Hearst actually had a great 1998 regular season, rushing for 1,570 yards and adding 535 more through the air while totaling nine touchdowns. However, he suffered a broken fibula in the divisional round of the playoffs, knocking him out for the next two seasons.

Curse Verdict: If you drafted Hearst in 1998, you were thrilled with his production during your fantasy season. The injury was obviously unfortunate, but there's no “Madden Curse” here as far as we're concerned.

While there are certainly some untimely injuries and poor performances from players who graced the Madden cover — not to mention some on- and off-field misfortune in subsequent years — it's pretty clear that the "Madden Curse" is nothing to fear for fantasy owners.

Among the 18 Madden coverboyssince Garrison Hearst in 1999 (including the shared cover on Madden NFL 10), eight had good seasons, three were running quarterbacks who got hurt, three didn't belong on the cover in the first place, two shouldered massive workloads the season prior, and one retired. That leaves one player since 1999 —Troy Polamalu—struck by the "Madden Curse."So, when it's time to call the name of the player attached to that year's Madden cover, do so with confidence.