Ranking the Top 5 Madden Cover Curses , Thursday, July 30, 2009 at 2:40 AM, in

By now even the most casual of pro football fans has heard of the Madden Cover Curse, the unexplainable coincidence that has seen the biggest stars of the NFL become riddled with bad luck in the season immediately following their appearance on the franchises cover.
Fans have become so terrified of the curse that San Diego Charger fans went so far as to create a website, saveltfrommadden.com, to deter their star back from going on the cover of Madden 2008.
It looked as though the curse would finally be lifted when EA Sports announced that Madden 2009 would feature a retired player on the cover. Let us start there.
Number 5
Madden 2009 Cover: Brett Favre Through many tears Brett Favre announced his retirement from the NFL in early 2008 shortly after leading the Packers to a heart breaking NFC Championship game loss. That should have been the end to the Madden Cover Curse, but instead Favre went through an ugly divorce with the Packers and became quarterback of the New York Jets.




What initially looked like a storybook season went down in flames when the previously indestructible QB suffered a torn biceps tendon in his throwing shoulder and destroyed the Jets season by losing 4 of their last 5 games.
Number 4
Madden 2002 Cover: Daunte Culpepper Following an improbably run to the NFC Championship game the previous year, Culpepper and the Vikings hobbled to a 4-7 record before Culpepper suffered a knee injury and ended his season.
Number 3
Madden 2003 Cover: Marshall Faulk After four straight seasons of being arguably the most explosive player in the NFL, Faulk's Madden season was hampered by injuries that prevented him from eclipsing even 1,000 yards. The Rams also missed the playoffs.
Number 2
Madden 2004 Cover: Michael Vick Vick was coming off of an explosive season which included an improbabe playoff appearance for the historically abysmal Atlanta Falcons. But Vick broke his fibula one day after Madden was released and missed the majority of a terrible 5-11 season. The Curse has lingered for Ron Mexico who has since seen his career go down in flames.
Number 1
Madden 2006 Cover: Donovan McNabb Donovan McNabb had led the Eagles to five straight playoff runs and even challenged the Curse might be a trend, but I don't believe in the curse at all.




Bad move! McNabb suffered a sports hernia in the first game and was sidelined almost half the season. Meanwhile the Eagles finished dead last in the East.
The Madden 2010 cover is taking things in a new direction by having both Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald on the cover. Will the Curse be twice as potent or will the bad luck finally subside? Can't wait to find out!