Players deny that it exists. ---
Coaches and GM’s laugh at such a ridiculous hypothesis. The theory being that every player that winds up on the cover of the Madden NFL video game gets injured that year. Laugh all you want, but the Madden curse is real. When I say real, I don’t mean guaranteed, but look at the history.
2000 Barry Sanders abruptly retires before game 1. (maybe he knew?)After Sanders retirement, Madden replaced Sanders with Dorsey Levens… who ijures his knee.
2001 Eddie George – well, nothing really happened to him, except a turnover that cost the Titans a trip to the Super Bowl.
2002 Daunte Culpepper — season-ending knee injury
2003 Marshall Faulk — broken ankle.
2004 Michael Vick – broken leg 1 day after game is released. His career went to the dogs after that.
2005 Ray Lewis – torn right hamstring, out for season.
2006 Donovan McNabb — sports hernia in first game, undergoes season-ending surgery.
2007 Shaun Alexander — broken left foot.
2008 Vince Young — sprained quadriceps, 1st missed game of his career.
2009 Brett Favre – torn bicep (alledgedly)but still, he IS Brett Favre, and that's as bad as anything.
2010 features 2 players on the cover. Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald, and Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu. Last night Polamalu injured a ligament and could be out for six weeks. If I were Larry Fitzgerald, I would be freaking out.