Philadelphia Eagles fans, prepare to confront the Madden curse.
Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley has landed himself on the cover of Madden 26, EA Sports revealed on Monday. The cover features Barkley’s iconic backwards hurdle over a Jacksonville Jaguars defender during a game last season.
The game is set to release on August 14.
Last year’s cover athlete was San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, who played just four games last season before sustaining a season-ending injury. The 49ers missed out on the postseason. Going back further, the so-called Madden curse is really a mixed bag. Madden 24 featured Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen on the cover, and the Bills won the AFC East before losing to the Kansas City Chiefs by a field goal in the Divisional Round. Madden 23 featured John Madden on the cover, so there was no curse that year. Madden 22 featured both Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady, who both had solid years, although neither made it to the Super Bowl that season.
Other than McCaffrey last season, the last true Madden curse seems to be former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who appeared on the cover of Madden 17 before struggling through injury the entire season. However, Gronk still won a ring that year even though he finished the season on injured reserve.
We’ll see what 2025-26 has in store for Barkley. If he’s even half as impactful as he was last season, the Madden cover probably cast no spell on the Eagles’ running back.