Depending on how much stock you put into curses, this is potentially some decent news for fans of the Seattle Seahawks. On Tuesday morning it was announced that San Franciso 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey will be the cover athlete for the latest installment of the Madden video game franchise.
It has been a busy offseason for McCaffrey’s agent. Recently, the All-Pro inked a lucrative extension with the 49ers worth $38 million. Now he will be in almost every home in America with a gaming console as the face of Madden 25. Interestingly, this is the second game in the franchise called Madden 25, as the 2013 installment had this name to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the game.
Officially announced from @EAMaddenNFL: #49ers RB Christian McCaffrey is on the cover of Madden 25 pic.twitter.com/6xZazZ8HwU
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 11, 2024
Of course, being the cover athlete is not always the most glamorous thing. With it, comes the potential of the infamous “Madden Curse” where unfortunate things happen to those who are featured on the game. For years, it used to refer to a player getting injured, such as Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander in 2006 who was the Madden 08 cover, or the entire Legion of Boom being hurt going into Super Bowl XLIX after Richard Sherman was featured for Madden 15. Rob Gronkowski may have earned a Super Bowl ring in the year he was the Madden 17 cover, but he was on injured reserve for the big game.
In recent seasons, the effectiveness of the curse seems to be in question. I’m of the belief it has morphed into simply a bad ending to the season in whatever form, such as the Bills losing in the playoffs last year when Josh Allen was the cover for Madden24, or Calvin Johnson Jr.’s record breaking season for Madden 13 resulting in a 4-12 season for the Lions.
Speaking of Detroit, perhaps the funniest one is when the franchise tried to break the curse by putting
However, there have been those who have seemingly broken the curse. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes won his first Super Bowl as the cover of Madden 20, and Tom Brady was league MVP the year he was on the front.
Of course, Seahawks fans might be secretly hoping the curse still lives on for McCaffrey, in some capacity. Maybe not a devastating injury, but maybe a critical fumble against them or yet another heartbreaking playoff loss. The 49ers star has simply been an unstoppable force on the ground, and it has often come at the expense of Seattle.
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