Christian McCaffrey Doesn’t Believe In Dreaded Madden Curse

San Francisco 49ers running back Christan McCaffrey will be on the cover of this year's edition of Madden, which probably just put a lump in the throat of all Niners fans as well as fantasy football owners who had McCaffrey lead them to a championship this season (*raises hand*).

That's because of the dreaded Madden curse that has affected cover athletes over the years.

However, McCaffrey — who was announced as the cover athlete for Madden NFL 25 — himself isn't all that concerned about it.

While there have been instances of players who landed on Madden covers making it through the following season unscathed others appear to have fallen victim to the curse by suffering injuries the following season. Some examples include Eddie George, Michael Vick, Shaun Alexander, Vince Young (extra cursed), Brett Favre, and even Rob Gronkowski.

While the last few cover athletes including Josh Allen who appeared on the cover of Madden NFL 24 have thwarted the curse it's always on people's minds. So, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero asked McCaffrey about it.

"No, I’m not superstitious at all about it. I was so excited, man. This was such an honor. When I first got the call, I was in shock," McCaffrey said. "It's something I just never thought would happen to me. I never thought that someone would call and tell me I'm on the cover of Madden.

"So when I got the call, I wasn’t thinking about any curse, I was just excited. I think that stuff is kinda myth and whatever happens, happens. I'm excited to be on the cover."

Obviously, football is a dangerous game — not The Most Dangerous Game; that's a frequently adapted short story — so a player sustaining an injury isn't odd, but the amount of times the Madden Curse has struck over the years really makes you think.

Still, curse or no curse, McCaffrey is right, landing that cover is a huge honor.