San Francisco 49ers McCaffrey to Appear on Madden 25 Cover

McCaffrey is the first 49er to appear on the cover since EA began featuring NFL athletes on the cover back in 2000. The 49ers running back is also the first to be featured since Adrian Peterson and Barry Sanders appeared on the cover in 2013.

San Francisco’s leading rusher finished last season with an Offensive Player of the Year honors. Some even believed his season was good enough to be the League’s MVP. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson took home that award earlier this year.

McCaffrey finished last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and tied with Raheem Mostert for a league-leading 21 touchdowns.

Now that it’s official that McCaffrey will be the Madden cover athlete, mutterings of the Madden Curse are already apparent. Supposedly, there is a curse known as the Madden Curse that follows whichever NFL player appears on the cover that year.  Disappointing seasons, season-ending injuries, and other unfortunate events seem to fall on the cover athletes in the past. As recent as last season, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen compiled his worst career interception number at 18.

Whether or not the curse is real will never be answered, but these NFL Athletes still relish the opportunity to appear on the cover of one of America’s most beloved video game franchises.