Vikings Fans Will Love Madden NFL 27 Cover if an Old Theory Is True
The Minnesota Vikings have only had two Madden NFL cover athletes in the franchise’s history.
The first came with Madden NFL 2002, when QB Daunte Culpeper graced the game’s cover. The next came in 2013 with Madden NFL 25, which was technicallyMadden NFL 14, but EA Sports was celebrating the 25th anniversary of the series. To celebrate, they put RB Adrian Peterson on the cover of the recently released Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions of the game.
Justin Jefferson has been a popular candidate for the cover of the game for the last five years, but it never came to be. It felt like during the height of the “Griddy” dance, a ridiculously viral trend in the early 2020s that Jefferson thrust into the mainstream, it was the perfect time to give him a cover for the game. EA Sports would look past it for names like Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, Josh Allen, and the namesake’s John Madden right after he sadly passed away.
Madden NFL 27 will be released to the world in early August, and EA Sports just revealed the cover athlete. While it’s not a Viking, the Vikings’ fans may still be a fan if they subscribe to a conspiracy theory centered around the simulation football video game.
Vikings Fans May Be Excited About Bears QB Caleb Williams Being the Madden NFL 27 Cover Star
Earlier this week, EA Sports officially announced that Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams will grace the cover of Madden NFL 27.
While it may seem like “bad” news that the Vikings are having a division rival get such an honor, it may not be as simple as it seems. The Madden NFL cover has been subject to an old conspiracy theory regarding its featured athletes. The theory is called the “Madden Curse”, and suggests that the cover athletes have a rough season (or multiple) following their appearance on the cover.
This curse, of course, includes both Vikings Madden NFL cover stars Daunte Culpepper and Adrian Peterson.
Vikings Bitten By ‘Madden Curse’ in Both Cover Features
The worst string of “curses” occurred from Madden NFL 01 to Madden NFL 12, with an exception for Ray Lewis on Madden NFL 05, per CBS Sports.
- Eddie George, Madden NFL 01: Career-high in fumbles, including one in a playoff loss, never went on to average more than 3.4 yards-per-carry in his career
- Daunte Culpepper, Madden NFL 02: 4-6 record in following season, 16 fumbles, 13 interceptions
- Marshall Faulk, Madden NFL 03: Missed almost 6 starts, never topped 1,000 yards rushing again
- Michael Vick, Madden NFL 04: Fractured his fibula less than a week after the game’s release, spent time in jail four years later
- Donovan McNabb, Madden NFL 06: Missed half of the next season, off-field issues with WR Terrell Owens
- Shaun Alexander, Madden NFL 07: Rushing total dropped 1,000 yards from 2006 season to 2007 season, out of the league two years after game release
- Vince Young, Madden NFL 08: 9 touchdowns to 17 interceptions, benched, and never got back out of Jeff Fisher’s doghouse
- Brett Favre, Madden NFL 09: Threw league-leading 22 interceptions before leaving the Jets to go to Minnesota
- Troy Polamalu/Larry Fitzgerald. Madden NFL 10: Polamalu missed 11 games due to MCL injury. Technically a half-curse, as Fitzgerald still had a fine season
- Drew Brees, Madden NFL 11: 22 interception season, playoff loss to 7-9 Seahawks after the “Beastquake” run
- Peyton Hillis, Madden NFL 12: Missed 6 games with injury, never averaged more than 3.6 yards-per-carry again, became a journeyman
Adrian Peterson would also fall into the “Madden Curse” two years after Peyton Hillis, after a major dip in rushing production from his MVP season. He then had serious legal issues. The most infamous case of the “Madden Curse” may be Madden NFL 19‘s cover star Antonio Brown, who began his long list of shenanigans quite immediately after his appearance.
Obviously, we would never wish injury or legal troubles on a player, but Vikings fans certainly wouldn’t turn down some good old fashioned struggles on the field for Caleb Williams. If you do subscribe to the curse, then the bad news is that the curse has lightened up in recent years. Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson may have all disproved the conspiracy theory.
Only time will tell, but the only thing that we know for sure is that Caleb Williams will be getting even more publicity via the cover.
