What is the Madden curse? History on the curse as Eagles' Saquon Barkley chosen for cover
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley has hurdled onto the cover of Madden NFL 2026, but hopefully will avoid the negative history behind the distinction.
After a record-setting season, Barkley and his famous backward hurdle will be featured on the cover of the popular video game. Will be bring bad luck though? There's some history that says yes, the "Madden curse" is real but it's been a while since it's had an impact.
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Here's what the curse is and which players it affected:
What is the Madden curse?
Some might say this is bad news for Barkley and Eagles fans due to the "Madden curse," as some players have sustained major injuries or sudden downfalls after gracing the cover.
Here's a look at some of the more notable "cursed" seasons by players who were on the Madden cover:
2025: San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey played only four games this past season due to a right knee injury.
2017: New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski missed the first four games of the 2018 season and started only six games total due to a herniated disk and other injuries.
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2012: Cleveland Browns RB Peyton Hillis, who came out of nowhere to rush for 1,000-plus yards, missed six games with an injury the following season and never reached his 2012 peak again.
2011: New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees wasn't bitten by the injury bug, but he did toss a career-high and franchise-record 22 picks as the Saints missed the playoffs.
2010: Steelers S Troy Polamalu, who shared the cover with Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald, missed 11 games because of an MCL injury.
2009: New York Jets QB Brett Favre forced his way out of Green Bay after a Hall-of-Fame career with the Packers and then threw a league-leading 22 interceptions.
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2008: Titans QB Vince Young threw only nine touchdowns and was picked 17 times before being benched.
2007: Seattle Seahawks RB Shaun Alexander rushed for only 896 yards and five-straight 1,000-plus yard seasons.
2006: Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb missed half of the season due to injuries and had a public feud with star WR Terrell Owens the following season after losing to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
2004: Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick fractured a fibula less than a week after the game's release, causing him to miss all but five games that season.
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2003: Rams RB Marshall Faulk, a model of consistency after five-straight 1,000-plus rushing yard seasons, fell short of the mark and never reached it again.
2002: Minnesota Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper missed six games due to injuries and lost 16 fumbles.
Who broke the Madden curse?
After years of bad luck, many speculate that Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson broke the Madden curse by posting a career year with 122 receptions for 1,964 yards and five touchdowns.
Madden covers by year and athlete
Madden first put an athlete on the cover in 2001, when Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George was chosen to front the game. Below is a look at all of the people to earn the cover art nod since then.
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2001: Eddie George, RB, Tennessee Titans
2002: Daunte Culpepper, QB, Minnesota Vikings
2003: Marshall Faulk, RB, St. Louis Rams
2004: Michael Vick, QB, Atlanta Falcons
2005: Ray Lewis, LB, Baltimore Ravens
2006: Donovan McNabb, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
2007: Shaun Alexander, RB, Seattle Seahawks
2008: Vince Young, QB, Tennessee Titans
2009: Brett Favre, QB, Green Bay Packers
2010: Troy Polamalu, S, Pittsburgh Steelers and Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals
2011: Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
2012: Peyton Hillis, RB, Cleveland Browns
2013: Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions
2014: Barry Sanders, RB, Detroit Lions
2014: Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings
2015: Richard Sherman, CB, Seattle Seahawks
2016: Odell Beckham Jr., WR, New York Giants
2017: Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots
2018: Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
2019: Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
2020: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
2021: Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
2022: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs and Tom Brady, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2023: John Madden, Pro Football Hall of Fame coach
2024: Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
2025: Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers
2026: Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
When does Madden '26 come out?
The release date for Madden NFL 2026 is Aug. 14, 2025.
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley will be on the cover of Madden NFL 2026.
How to preorder Madden NFL 2026
To preorder the game, visit the EA Sports website here.
What is Madden 99 Club? Barkley's Madden rating
Barkley will be the second Eagles player to be on the cover of a Madden game. Donovan McNabb was the first to do so for the 2006 iteration of the game.
Celebrate the Eagles' Super Bowl win with our new book
Madden NFL: Eagles Saquon Barkley reacts − with a twist − to Madden NFL adding backwards hurdle to game
Saquon Barkley hurdle added to Madden
It's not surprising that Barkley will grace the cover of this year's Madden.
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Barkley's improbable backward hurdle over a Jacksonville Jaguars defender in the Birds' Week 9 win was added to Madden NFL 2025.
The Barkley hurdle: Eagles Saquon Barkley's backwards hurdle 'best play I ever saw'. Social media goes bonkers
Here's how it looks in the game:
Who did Saquon Barkley jump over?
Shortly after Barkley took a pass in the flat from quarterback Jalen Hurts broke a tackle, spun away from another defender and then leaped backward over defensive back Jarrian Jones − social media went wild.
It wasn't long after that play – maybe the most memorable of the year – was added to Madden.
Saquon Barkley's record-setting season
Barkley was selected for the honor following his first season with the Eagles where he rushed for 2,504 yards – the most ever in a season when counting the playoffs.
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He also had the most scrimmage yards in a season with 2,857. His 499 rushing yards were the third most all-time in one postseason and his 2,005 rushing yards was eighth most all-time in a regular season.
He also added 15 total touchdowns in the regular season and five more in the playoffs, which was capped by the Birds' 40-22 Super Bowl 59 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Jacob Camenker contributed this story.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: What is the Madden curse? Eagles' Saquon Barkley on Madden 2026 cover
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