49ers' Christian McCaffrey has new obstacle to overcome after being selected as Madden cover star
Christian McCaffrey has emphatically silenced doubters who questioned his trade to the San Francisco 49ers. Now the reigning Offensive Player of the Year will have to overcome a curse as he looks to help the 49ers return to the Super Bowl in the 2024 season. McCaffrey was on Tuesday revealed as the cover athlete for […]
Christian McCaffrey has emphatically silenced doubters who questioned his trade to the San Francisco 49ers.
Now the reigning Offensive Player of the Year will have to overcome a curse as he looks to help the 49ers return to the Super Bowl in the 2024 season.
McCaffrey was on Tuesday revealed as the cover athlete for Madden 25.
While it is a distinguished honor, it is one that may make 49ers fans nervous about their star running back’s 2024 season.
Indeed, annually attached to the selection of the cover athlete is talk of the 'Madden curse', with a host of players who have graced the cover going on to endure sub-par seasons in the subsequent campaign.
But, with the likes of Calvin Johnson, Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes making history in the aftermath of being selected as the cover athlete, the idea of the 'Madden curse' has grown ever more dubious.
McCaffrey will hope to further discredit the notion with another stunning season after leading the NFL in scrimmage yards, rushing yards and total touchdowns in a remarkable first full season for the 49ers that ended with an overtime defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 58.
He is the fourth 49er to grace the Madden cover in the history of the game, though he is the first to feature on the cover for the primary video game format in North America.
Running back Ricky Watters and defensive lineman Karl Wilson featured on different versions of the game in 1994.
Garrison Hearst was on the cover of the PAL version of Madden NFL 99 and went on to enjoy a stellar 1998 season, racking up 2,105 yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns in the regular season.
However, he broke his ankle in the Divisional round of the playoffs and went on to miss the next two seasons following complications from surgery.
That unfortunate end to Hearst's Madden cover campaign may be reason for fear around McCaffrey receiving the same honor in the minds of 49ers fans.
But McCaffrey has displayed outstanding durability since being traded to the Niners and held up amid a colossal workload last season. If that changes in 2024, it won't be because of a curse.
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It shouldn’t be too difficult.
