So the Philadelphia Eagles fan base received some good news and bad news that might superstitiously affect the outcome of the 2025 NFL season for the team.
Let's start with the good news. On Monday morning, EA Sports Madden 26 football video game announced that Eagles running back Saquon Barkley will be the cover athlete. They used Barkley's iconic image of him backward hurdling over the Jacksonville Jaguars defender last year as the cover image.
.@Saquon hurdled his way onto the cover of #Madden26
Coming 8.14.25. Pre-Order Today.
🔗: https://t.co/zm14BbUaJf pic.twitter.com/l1QYWN0b7h— Madden NFL 26 (@EAMaddenNFL) June 2, 2025
It's an honor worthy of Barkley after rushing for an NFL-record 2,504 yards in the regular season and playoffs. He cemented himself as the best running back in the NFL and the best offensive player after winning the AP Offensive Player of the Year award in 2024.
There is some bad news for this that Eagles fans who are not video game players should know. There is a curse to being on the Madden cover, and it has haunted the fan base dating back nearly two decades.
The Madden Curse has hit the Eagles hard in the past
Over the last two decades, the "Madden Curse" has become a real phenomenon, where whoever is on the cover of the game often experiences something bad happening to them or their team. It's happened as recently as last year when San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey got hurt twice with an Achilles and a knee injury as he only played four games.
Eagles fans should be aware of the curse, as it once affected the organization significantly back in 2005. Former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was named to the cover of Madden 06 before suffering a sports hernia injury and playing only nine games. This came on the heels of their Super Bowl appearance against the New England Patriots the previous year, as the aftermath resulted in a 6-10 record in 2005 and a missed postseason appearance.
People might laugh at a curse being real, but Barkley has an injury history to keep in him. When he was with the New York Giants in 2020, he only played two games before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
Who knows if the Eagles will be hit with the Madden Curse again, but the franchise hopes that history doesn't repeat itself. Barkley is much needed to help Philadelphia get back into the Super Bowl and a video game could derail the whole season.
