Ruminator
Well-known member
Sweet! If this leak is legit, JSN dodged a bullet.
I'm beginning to wonder if Goodell just randomly pulls names out of a hat and "Bam!"....Instant Madden Cover.Dude choked in the losing playoff game and threw 3 INTs...but still gets the cover? Fishy
| Player | Cover | How direct was it? |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Vick | Madden 2004 | Very direct. He broke his right fibula in preseason shortly after the game came out and missed most of the regular season. (ESPN) |
| Donovan McNabb | Madden 06 | Pretty direct. He suffered a sports hernia in the first game of the 2005 season, played through it, then had surgery and missed the rest of the year. (ESPN) |
| Shaun Alexander | Madden 07 | Direct season-after-cover example. He cracked/broke a bone in his foot during the 2006 season after being on the cover. (Engadget) |
| Troy Polamalu | Madden 10 | Extremely direct. He injured his MCL in the season opener after being on the cover. (WIRED) |
| Rob Gronkowski | Madden 17 | Direct, but not immediate. He had an injury-plagued 2016 and needed back surgery late in the season. (NFL.com) |
| Christian McCaffrey | Madden 25 | Direct in the cover-season sense. He was announced as the cover athlete in June 2024, the game released in August, and he missed Week 1/started the season on IR with calf/Achilles issues. (Reuters) |
| Madden game | Cover athlete | What happened after |
|---|---|---|
| Madden 99 | Garrison Hearst | Serious playoff leg/ankle injury; missed two seasons. |
| Madden 2000 | Barry Sanders | Retired unexpectedly before the season. |
| Madden 2002 | Daunte Culpepper | Knee injury and major production drop. |
| Madden 2003 | Marshall Faulk | Ankle injury/decline; never rushed for 1,000 yards again. |
| Madden 2004 | Michael Vick | Fractured fibula in preseason; missed most of the year. |
| Madden 2006 | Donovan McNabb | Groin injury, season-ending IR, Eagles drama. |
| Madden 2007 | Shaun Alexander | Broken foot, huge decline after MVP season. |
| Madden 2008 | Vince Young | Quad injury, poor TD/INT year, career momentum fell apart. |
| Madden 2009 | Brett Favre | Shoulder/biceps issue, Jets collapsed late. |
| Madden 2010 | Troy Polamalu | MCL/knee injury; missed major time. |
| Madden 2012 | Peyton Hillis | Hamstring/strep issues, missed games, rapid decline. |
| Madden 2017 | Rob Gronkowski | Hamstring/back injuries, season-ending IR. |
| Madden 2019 | Antonio Brown | Steelers breakup, Raiders/Patriots/Bucs chaos afterward. |
| Madden 2025 | Christian McCaffrey | Played only four games in 2024 due to calf/Achilles and later injury issues. |
Exactly, so redic that people believe that crap.LOL oh Lord, people believing in the Madden curse....I wish JSN had gotten it, assuming the above is true.
And yet it's "so redic that people believe that crap".
Player CoverHow direct was it? Michael Vick Madden 2004Very direct. He broke his right fibula in preseason shortly after the game came out and missed most of the regular season. (ESPN) Donovan McNabb Madden 06Pretty direct. He suffered a sports hernia in the first game of the 2005 season, played through it, then had surgery and missed the rest of the year. (ESPN) Shaun Alexander Madden 07Direct season-after-cover example. He cracked/broke a bone in his foot during the 2006 season after being on the cover. (Engadget) Troy Polamalu Madden 10Extremely direct. He injured his MCL in the season opener after being on the cover. (WIRED) Rob Gronkowski Madden 17Direct, but not immediate. He had an injury-plagued 2016 and needed back surgery late in the season. (NFL.com) Christian McCaffrey Madden 25Direct in the cover-season sense. He was announced as the cover athlete in June 2024, the game released in August, and he missed Week 1/started the season on IR with calf/Achilles issues. (Reuters)
Technically 6 direct correlations... everythiung else was subjective or related to later years.... it is DEFINITELY a tinfoil hat vibe haha
If you dont relate any DIRECT correlation to year and madden covers we have... the tin foil vibe here
Madden game Cover athlete What happened after Madden 99 Garrison Hearst Serious playoff leg/ankle injury; missed two seasons. Madden 2000 Barry Sanders Retired unexpectedly before the season. Madden 2002 Daunte Culpepper Knee injury and major production drop. Madden 2003 Marshall Faulk Ankle injury/decline; never rushed for 1,000 yards again. Madden 2004 Michael Vick Fractured fibula in preseason; missed most of the year. Madden 2006 Donovan McNabb Groin injury, season-ending IR, Eagles drama. Madden 2007 Shaun Alexander Broken foot, huge decline after MVP season. Madden 2008 Vince Young Quad injury, poor TD/INT year, career momentum fell apart. Madden 2009 Brett Favre Shoulder/biceps issue, Jets collapsed late. Madden 2010 Troy Polamalu MCL/knee injury; missed major time. Madden 2012 Peyton Hillis Hamstring/strep issues, missed games, rapid decline. Madden 2017 Rob Gronkowski Hamstring/back injuries, season-ending IR. Madden 2019 Antonio Brown Steelers breakup, Raiders/Patriots/Bucs chaos afterward. Madden 2025 Christian McCaffrey Played only four games in 2024 due to calf/Achilles and later injury issues.
I mean 6 times in.. what 26 years now? Seems coincidental to me.. but who knowsAnd yet it's "so redic that people believe that crap".
Well okay then. I'll be "ridiculous" (and wear the tin-foil hat) 'cause that's way too many times for it to be a coincidence. WTF?
Now that's not to say anything will happen to Caleb but after reading your list (thanks for doing the research), I'm even more relieved that JSN wasn't on the cover.
Based on the chart i had posted.. only six injuries were literally after the Madden Cover.God forbid objective and logical analysis be applied to the Madden cover player results from their year following being on the cover. CMC for example, the 49ers have been abusing the hell out of his body ever since they got him, he's been putting in the snaps and workload of like 1.3+ players or more, he was GUARANTEED to get injured before long...but let's blame it on the cover appearance.For the players who didn't perform as well, players get the cover typically after having the BEST YEAR THEY'VE EVER HAD, of course they are unlikely to duplicate or surpass that same set of results in back-to-back years, etc.
They must be the ones who built the Substation in Santa Clara