Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has landed on the cover of the latest version of the “Madden” video game franchise, but should fans be worried?
Like clockwork, every time an athlete is chosen to appear on the cover of a “Madden” video game there is immediate hyperventilating speculation over whether or not that player is going to be subjected to a curse that will derail their entire season, or even their career.
Players like Shaun Alexander and Michael Vick are always brought up in the context of those conversations, and Bears fans can be forgiven for immediately pivoting to the worst case scenarios for their quarterback.
But is the curse real?
Looking back at recent history, it would seem that the cover athlete curse might be overblown. Outside of San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey, who only appeared in four games during his cover season, players have had decent-to-strong seasons after appearing on the cover of the game.
That list includes Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes, both of whom were dominant in the 2021 season when they were on the cover together. Mahomes won a Super Bowl after appearing on the cover in 2019, and Josh Allen finished in the top-five in MVP voting during the 2023 season.
When it comes to the player who may have reversed the fortune of Madden cover athletes, former Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson is the gold standard. In 2012, Johnson racked up a staggering 1,964 receiving yards, with 122 receptions and five touchdowns in the campaign.
Still, the picture wasn’t exactly pretty before Johnson broke out in a big way. After all, Peyton Hillis had a rough 2011 season after appearing on the cover, and Brett Favre had one of the worst seasons of his career when he was on the cover in 2008.
Shaun Alexander played in 17 more NFL games the season after his cover campaign, and Michael Vick and Eddie George both were bitten by bad luck for large chunks of their careers after the covers appeared.
Will Caleb Williams’ story be different? Bears fans will have to wait until September when they kick off their regular season against the Carolina Panthers.
Here is a breakdown of Madden cover athletes, focused on the players who appeared on the English language version of the games.
*Note: The years listed on this story are the years the games were released, not the billed games. For instance, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley appeared on the cover of “Madden: 26,” which was released in 2025.
2025: Saquon Barkley
Barkley appeared in 16 games last season, rushing for 1,140 yards and seven touchdowns. Granted, it wasn’t a 2,000-yard season like he had in 2024, but it was still pretty solid.
2024: Christian McCaffrey
McCaffrey was limited to just four games, rushing for 202 yards for the 49ers. That curse was only for one year however, as he returned to being an AP All-Pro in 2025 and finished in fourth in MVP voting.
2023: Josh Allen
Allen threw for 4,306 yards and 29 touchdowns during the 2023 season, finishing fifth in MVP voting for the Bills.
2021: Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes
All Brady did was throw for a career-high 5,316 yards and 43 touchdowns. He finished runner-up in MVP voting.
Mahomes also had a Pro Bowl season, throwing for 4,839 yards and 37 touchdowns.
2020: Lamar Jackson
Jackson went 11-4 as the quarterback for the Ravens in the 2020 season, throwing for 26 touchdowns and rushing for seven more.
2019: Patrick Mahomes
Appearing solo on the cover, Mahomes threw for 4,031 yards and 26 touchdowns, and finished as a Pro Bowler and finished in the top-five of Offensive Player of the Year voting. He also did something no other Madden cover athlete had done in the current millennium: win a Super Bowl.
2018: Antonio Brown
After four straight years of being an AP All-Pro, Brown missed the cut in 2018, but still had a solid year with 1,297 receiving yards and a career-high 15 touchdown receptions for the Steelers.
2017: Tom Brady
Brady threw for 4,577 yards and 32 touchdowns, winning the MVP Award and earning AP All-Pro honors for his exploits. Unfortunately, the Patriots came up just short of winning the Super Bowl.
2016: Rob Gronkwoski
Gronkowski had some injury problems during the season, appearing in only eight games. He still had 540 receiving yards and three touchdowns, but it interrupted a run where he was an AP All-Pro three times in four seasons.
2015: Odell Beckham
The high-flying wide receiver followed up his Rookie of the Year campaign with another stellar season, with 96 catches for 1,450 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns, the latter two of which were career highs.
2014: Richard Sherman
For the third straight year, Sherman was an AP All-Pro team member, with four interceptions and eight passes defended for the Seahawks. Again though, the Seahawks lost the Super Bowl to the Patriots.
2013: Adrian Peterson
One of the top running backs in the league, Peterson rushed for 1,266 yards and 10 touchdowns in the 2013 season, and while he didn’t quite measure up to his previous season when he racked up nearly 2,100 yards, he still put up respectable numbers.
2012: Calvin Johnson
The Lions wide receiver had a career-high 1,964 receiving yards during his Madden cover season, with a career-high 122 catches and five touchdowns. He was named an AP All-Pro for the second time in his career.
2011: Peyton Hillis
After a breakout season with the Browns Hillis came back to Earth, appearing in 10 contests and rushing for 587 yards and three touchdowns.
2010: Drew Brees
Brees threw for 4,620 yards and 33 touchdowns for the Saints and was named to the Pro Bowl, part of a string of seven consecutive selections to the annual game.
2009: Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald
After facing off in the Super Bowl, Polamalu and Fitzgerald got the co-cover treatment in this edition of the game.
Polamalu only appeared in five games for Pittsburgh that season, but Fitzgerald had a slightly better time, with 97 catches for 1,092 yards and a career-high 13 touchdowns.
2008: Brett Favre
Originally the selection had been made to honor Favre’s career, but then he mounted a comeback and signed a contract with the Jets. He threw for 3,472 yards in that season, with 22 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.
2007: Vince Young
Young threw for a career high 2,546 passing yards in his second pro season, and he also rushed for 395 yards and three touchdowns.
2006: Shaun Alexander
A year after winning NFL MVP honors, Alexander only appeared in 10 games, with 896 yards and seven touchdowns for the Seahawks. After this season, he only appeared in 17 more NFL games in his career.
2005: Donovan McNabb
This season was a definite downswing for McNabb, who snapped a streak of five straight Pro Bowl berths when he only appeared in nine games for the Eagles, throwing for 2,507 yards and 16 touchdowns.
2004: Ray Lewis
If there was one player who would seem immune to the Madden Curse, it would be Lewis, and he delivered with another AP All-Pro season and finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting for the Ravens.
2003: Michael Vick
The Falcons speed demon quarterback exploded in 2002, but he was ravaged by injuries in his cover year, only appearing in five games for Atlanta. He did bounce back with two straight Pro Bowl appearances in the following two seasons.
2002: Marshall Faulk
Faulk’s streak of three straight Offensive Player of the Year honors came to an end, but he still made the Pro Bowl as he rushed for 953 yards and eight touchdowns for the Rams.
2001: Daunte Culpepper
Culpepper only appeared in 11 games during his cover season, with 2,612 passing yards and 14 touchdown passes.
2000: Eddie George
George set career highs in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, finishing in third place in MVP voting and being named to the AP All-Pro First-Team for the first and only time in his NFL career.
