Examining the Madden curse as Caleb Williams lands honor to give Bears fans sleepless nights

NFL stars are always honored to grace the cover of Madden, but there must surely be one nagging doubt, ‘What about the curse?’

The theory is that anybody who appears of the front of the legendary franchise’s upcoming game suffers a massive decline in performance, or worse, injury the following season.

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Saquon Barkley is definitely an argument for its existence.

The Philadelphia Eagles superstar hurdled his way to 2,000 yards, a Super Bowl win and an iconic Madden cover in 2025.

Last season, his rushing yards almost halved and Barkley averaged just 4.1 per carry compared to 5.8 a year previous.

Was it the curse, or a struggling O-line? We take a look at the last 10 covers stars — aside from Madden himself in 23 — to weigh the evidence.

Madden 25: Christian McCaffrey

The San Francisco 49ers phenom won Offensive Player of the Year in 2023, his next honor was Comeback Player of the Year in 2025.

In between, he signed a $38 million extension to reset the market for running backs, only to enter training camp with calf and Achilles injuries and wind up on IR.

The season after gracing the cover, he appeared in four games and had zero touchdowns.

Madden 24: Josh Allen

The Buffalo Bills gunslinger took his team to the Divisional Round in 2022 to earn his nod.

In 2023, he threw fewer passing touchdowns and a career-high 18 picks.

Allen balanced that out with a stunning 15 rushing TDs and reached the Divisional Round again to survive the curse.

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Madden 22: Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady

After squaring off in the Super Bowl, the two talismanic quarterbacks appeared together on the cover.

Brady couldn’t win an eighth rung but hit 43 passing touchdowns — his best mark since 2007 — in what would be his final season.

Mahomes led his team to the AFC Championship Game.

Madden 21: Lamar Jackson

The dual-threat phenom earned his first MVP nod in 2019 to catch the eye of EA Sports.

He didn’t quite hit the same heights after his Madden appearance, but could hardly be considered a bust and led the NFL in yards for rush as he topped 1,000 on the ground.

Madden 20: Patrick Mahomes

The Chiefs icon’s first appearance came after an MVP campaign in 2018.

He followed it up by taking his franchise to a first ever Vince Lombardi Trophy with victory over the 49ers.

Madden 19: Antonio Brown

The Pittsburgh Steelers wideout had 1,533 yards in 2017 at the height of his powers.

He managed a sixth-straight 1,000-yard season to shrug off the curse but did suffer a spectacular fall from grace in the coming years and infamously quit mid game while playing with Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Madden 18: Tom Brady

Brady was crowned Super Bowl MVP for the fourth time in 2016.

Clearly not a believer in superstition, he followed that with 4,500 passing yards and 32 touchdowns to earn a third and final MVP award, although he didn’t secure another ring.

Madden 17: Rob Gronkowski

The legendary tight end and Brady’s right-hand man had 1,176 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2015 as he became the dominant force at his position.

After finding his way onto the cover of Madden, he struggled with injury and ended the season on injured reserve.

Racking up 540 yards on six starts at a career-high 21.6 yards per target, he missed the postseason but still earned a ring after the Patriots’ incredible comeback over the Atlanta Falcons

Madden 16: Odell Beckham Jr.

A year after joining the New York Giants 12th overall, OBJ had been named Offensive Rookie of the Year and appeared on the cover of Madden making a trademark one-handed catch.

The following season, he caught 96 passes for 1,450 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Madden 15: Richard Sherman

A rare defensive feature, the Legion of Boom superstar led the league in interceptions in 2013 as the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl.

The following season, he secured a third-successive First-Team All-Pro nod and was obviously not hampered by any curse.

Verdict: Rest easy Bears fans

Sure, some people have struggled after gracing the iconic cover, but most were coming off career years so some regression is always on the cards.

Williams may not continue his rise in 2026, but it won’t be because of a video game.

The QB is the franchise’s first nod and is happy to soak up the moment as preseason gets underway.

“I was super excited, super juiced. Excited to be the first Bear to be a part of this and the cover athlete,” he said of the honor. “It’s something like a wishing star, a shooting star, a dream come true. It’s all of the above. Everything and more.

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