Following the reveal that Electronic Arts’ Madden NFL 26 cover will feature the Philadelphia Eagles’ running back Saquon Barkley, joining Eagles Hall of Fame quarterback Donovan McNabb, who graced the front of the 2006 edition, fears have risen over the legendary ‘curse.’
Indeed, Barkley has landed on the cover of the popular American football sports video game franchise named after Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and commentator John Madden and developed by EA Orlando for EA Sports, according to its social media post published on June 2.
Will Madden 26 cover break the ‘curse’?
The so-called ‘Madden curse’ is the belief that players featured on the Madden NFL cover often suffer injuries or underperform in the following season, which happened to San Francisco 49ers star Christian McCaffrey, who managed to play only four games in 2024-25 due to Achilles issues.
Still, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Tom Brady, and Josh Allen all had respectable seasons after being on the cover, and Barkley himself isn’t worrying too much about the superstition, brushing it off by saying that he’s a “believer in God,” and that it was his mindset.
“I’ve had injuries before. I tore my knee. I stepped on a foot and rolled my ankle, was out for four to six weeks, and there was no curse then. That’s just how life works. You’re going to have your ups and downs. But my mindset is work, do what I need to do, and the rest is in God’s hands.”
Meanwhile, if you’re not much of a sports video game fan, Electronic Arts might have something in store for you, as it’s preparing an XCOM-inspired Star Wars-themed single-player, turn-based strategy game Star Wars Zero Company, which will hit the consoles sometime in 2026.
Elsewhere, this has given Star Wars fans everywhere something to enjoy while we wait for the remake of the beloved Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) franchise to finally come out, something that Bioware’s CCO Tim Willits has hinted recently is still in development.
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