Ja'Marr Chase makes his thoughts crystal clear about ever gracing the cover of Madden NFL
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase is on track to earning First Team All-Pro honors for the first time in his career. The receiver triple crown is also his for the taking. He's even in the running for Offensive Player of the Year. That kind of year could get you on the cover of the next […]
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase is on track to earning First Team All-Pro honors for the first time in his career. The receiver triple crown is also his for the taking. He's even in the running for Offensive Player of the Year.
That kind of year could get you on the cover of the next Madden NFL video game, but don't tell Chase that.
When asked if he'd ever want to grace the cover a future Madden installment, Chase did not hesitate to make his case known.
"No. I don't want that," Chase said Thursday before knocking on actual wood. "I'm saying no. I'm good."
While he did not explicitly say why, it's pretty clear that Chase does not want to become a victim of the infamous "Madden Curse."
"No comment, but I'm not doing that." Chase said when asked about the curse. "I'm good."
The curse has a legacy of leaving cover athletes injured the same year they've been on the cover. San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey being the latest example certainly makes Chase look justified with his stance. McCaffrey, the cover star of Madden NFL 25, suffered an achillies injury in training camp and only played four games before suffering a PCL injury that will likely end his season entirely.
Quarterbacks such as Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, and Josh Allen have been able to overcome the curse in recent years, but as a non-quarterback, perhaps Chase is more weary of how it'll impact him.
A Bengals player has never been the franchise's cover athlete before, but Chase would be one of two obvious candidates to become Cincinnati's first. Quarterback Joe Burrow will always be in the conversation during the duration of his prime years as well.
Judging by Chase's visceral reaction, it sounds like it may just be Burrow at this point.
Ja’Marr Chase made sure he was the first to gift Joe Burrow a birthday present after Bengals’ win over Cowboys
Just some friends being friends.
