Madden cover curse: Curse returns with vengeance on Christian McCaffrey

The vaunted Madden "cover curse" might have struck again this season.

San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey, who was on the cover of Madden 25, will likely miss the remainder of the 2024 season after suffering a PCL injury in their Week 13 loss to the Buffalo Bills. McCaffrey is expected to be out for six weeks and will be placed on injured reserve, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters.

For many years, the belief has been that whichever player is featured on the cover of the iconic video game will either miss significant time due to injury or have a major regression in their on-field performance. So, McCaffrey's potential season-ending injury (while appearing in just four games prior due to an Achilles injury) would certainly fit that criteria. 

With one major exception, it seems as though the curse has really lost its luster over the past several years prior to McCaffrey's placement on the cover. However, many of its victims have been running backs, like McCaffrey. That said, let's take a look at how Madden cover athletes have fared over the years following the release of the game with their image on it.

(Note: Madden 23, the 2022 edition of the game, did not feature any current player on its cover but instead honored the late John Madden, the legendary former NFL on FOX analyst who also helped design and lent his name to the game. Madden was also featured on every cover of the game until 2000.)

Madden 25: Christian McCaffrey

After a few dormant seasons, the Madden curse came back with a vengeance in 2024. McCaffrey missed the majority of training camp and the entire preseason due to calf and Achilles injuries. He was expected to return for the start of the regular season, but he was ruled