Hate that your team didn’t draft Odell Beckham Jr. last year and wish there was some way you can ruin his season? Well, now’s your chance to do something about it. EA Sports Madden NFL 16 has just released their four finalists for the game’s cover, with Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski and Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson all joining Beckham Jr in a battle for the coveted, and sometimes cursed, cover spot.
The 4 finalists for the Madden 16 Cover VOTE pic.twitter.com/1SraLs8TNC
— Madden 19 (@MaddenTwenty) May 4, 2015
Unlike past seasons where you could pick from a huge bracket of potential NFL cover superstars, or Peyton Hillis, this year EA wants to trick you into using their mobile app. There are instructions on how to win votes and cast them in the link and voting is open now. The two finalists will go head-to-head in a final vote May 13 on ESPN.com.
The so-called Madden Curse has taken a hit, of late, unless you count Peyton Hillis’ cover stint which was really just a curse on everybody that bought the game. And while you could make the argument that last season’s cover model, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, did get injured, it happened in the NFC title game and he still had a pretty fantastic Super Bowl performance, so that disqualifies him.
Adrian Peterson appeared on Madden 25 and was fine for a whole season before landing himself on the Commissioner’s Exempt List for beating his son like he owed him money.
Really, the “curse” became an issue because it hit so many players on consecutive covers from 2001-2007. It began with Duante Culpepper on Madden 2002, and while he wasn’t injured, the Vikings did finish 5-11. The first real injury on a Madden cover star happened the next season when the St. Louis Rams’ Marshall Faulk appeared on the cover. Faulk was hurt most of the season, along with quarterback Kurt Warner and the Rams missed the playoffs.
#Madden16 Cover should be this pic.twitter.com/TY2gxpk5tj
— DLB (@DetLionBlood) May 5, 2015
The worst case of the “curse” was with the Madden 2004 cover and Michael Vick. Vick never even made it to the regular season, breaking his leg in a preseason game. Ray Lewis escaped the Madden 2005 cover mostly unscathed, missing just one game, but 2006’s Donovan McNabb tor his ACL the very next year. Madden 2007’s Shaun Alexander missed six starts with a foot injury and seemingly broke the “curse” in the process. After a string of successful seasons from Calvin Johnson, Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Peterson and Sherman, the curse appears to have run its course.
Madden 16 will be released on Aug. 15, 2015.
