Caleb Williams’ hype for the 2026 season reaches new heights after Bears quarterback receives major preseason accolade
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams will officially be the cover athlete for ESPN’s Madden NFL 27 and it’s already turned into a bittersweet realization for Bears fans that are stuck believing in superstitions.
Quarterback Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears were already heading into the 2026 season with some high expectations after what the team achieved last season under head coach Ben Johnson and those expectations just skyrocketed.
Caleb Williams is now officially the new face of the NFL, at least the video game version of the NFL. EA Sports confirmed the speculated leaks and announced on Wednesday that Williams will in fact be the cover of Madden NFL 27.
Williams is the first Bears player to grace the official cover of Madden. However, it’s worth noting that former Bears Roberto Garza was on the the cover of the Spanish-language version of Madden NFL 09 and Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher was featured on the cover of NFL 2K3, a former competitor to the Madden franchise.
Chicago Bears fans seem to have mixed feelings on Caleb Williams being on the cover of Madden 27
Personally, it’s incredible to see a Chicago Bears quarterback as the face of the NFL and it goes to show the star power Williams adds to the entire league this early in his career. The first complaint worth discussing is, does Williams actually deserve this honor?
Williams is just three years into his NFL career without a Pro Bowl selection, MVP, or even a Super Bowl win. All he currently has on his resume, outside of breaking franchise records, is one playoff win against the Green Bay Packers.
Other candidates who could have been the cover athlete for Madden could have included the reigning MVP Matthew Stafford, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl champion Jaxon Smith-Njigba, or even the reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett repping his new Los Angeles Rams colors. People could even argue for another quarterback from the 2024 draft class in Drake Maye, who at least led his team to a Super Bowl berth and is a two-time Pro Bowl selection.
Instead, the honor of being the cover athlete went to Caleb Williams, who still has much to prove going into this upcoming season. Bears fans don’t seem to mind, for the most part, and relish in the fact that Packers fans will be opening the game and immediately see highlights of Williams balling out against their favorite team. They can also stick it to Packers fans that Williams graced the cover of Madden before Aaron Rodgers.
Is the Madden curse real?
Other Bears fans are expressing concern about the superstitious “Madden Curse” that has supposedly haunted former cover athletes. Let’s break down what happened to some of the recent cover athletes and see if this curse is legit.
| Cover Athlete | Madden Edition | Games Played | Negatives | Positives |
| Saquon Barkley | Madden 26 | 16 | Eagles lost first-round, Regression in rushing yards and rushing TDS | 1,000 rushing yards, playoff berth |
| Christian McCaffrey | Madden 25 | 4 | Missed 13 games due to injury after leading the NFL in yards and TDs | None, it was a lost season for CMC |
| Josh Allen | Madden 24 | 17 | Not selected to the Pro Bowl. Bills lost in the Divisional Round | 4,000+ passing yards, 29-18 TD-INT ratio. 11-6 record. |
| Tom Brady / Patrick Mahomes | Madden 22 | 17 | Bucs lost in the divisional round. Chiefs lost in the AFCCG. | Brady led NFL in passing yards and TDs. Mahomes had 4,800+ yards and 37 passing TDs. Both players were Pro Bowlers. |
| Lamar Jackson | Madden 21 | 15 | Regression in passing yards and passing TDs. Ravens lost in the Divisional Round | Jackson had a 26-9 TD-INT ratio. Ravens went 11-4 with Jackson as the starter. |
This seems more like a case of correlation than causation. The only real cover athlete of the last five that suffered from a “cursed” season was McCaffrey, who’s dealt with injuries his entire career. What happened to him in 2024 was mainly due to how much he was used the season prior than being the cover of Madden.
As for the other four, they still had successful seasons. Yeah, it wasn’t up to par to the legendary seasons they had the year prior, but that was expected regression.
This should ease Bears fans. If the Madden curse means Williams throws for 4,000+ yards and leads his team to the playoffs like it did for Allen, Mahomes, and Brady, I’ll take that curse every single year.
Ultimately, this is good news for Bears fans. Williams is the face of the NFL. Don’t buy into these superstitions and instead be thrilled for what this honor actually means.