CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Christian McCaffrey, the all-pro running back for the San Francisco 49ers, will grace the cover of Madden 25, EA Sports announced on Tuesday.
McCaffrey led the NFL with over 1400 yards rushing in 2023. He scored 14 rushing touchdowns and seven receiving touchdowns in a season that further solidified him as one of the best players in the NFL. The 49ers won the NFC Championship in large part due to McCaffrey's presence.
Carolina Panthers fans are quite familiar with McCaffrey's framework. McCaffrey played with the Panthers for five seasons before being traded to the 49ers in 2022. He made the all-pro team in 2019 when he had over 2300 all-purpose yards.
Barry Sanders and Adrian Peterson were the last running backs selected for the Madden cover in 2014 after a fan vote. That game was coincidentally titled Madden 25 to honor the game's 25th installment. Both players were featured on separate versions of the game's covers.
Madden Panthers
Here's some trivia: McCaffrey is the third player with any connection to the Panthers to be on the cover of Madden. The first two were Cary Brabham and Reggie White, who appeared in the background rather than as the featured athlete. John Madden was the primary person featured on the cover from 1989 to 1998.
Brabham was never even on a regular season roster with the Panthers but appeared on the cover of Madden 96. The cover shows Brabham colliding with a Jacksonville Jaguars player during the 1995 Hall of Fame preseason game, the first game played by both teams in their inaugural season.
Brabham told WCNC Charlotte in 2014 that he wasn't aware he was on the cover until a year later. He played two years with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1993 and 1994 but never again made an official NFL roster.
White needs little introduction. He was one of the greatest defensive ends in NFL history and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, two years after he died at the age of 43 in Cornelius, North Carolina.
White spent most of his career with the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles but spent his last season with the Panthers in 2000.
Before playing in Carolina, White appeared in the background of the cover of Madden 97.
Madden curse
The immediate conversation whenever a Madden cover athlete is chosen surrounds the mythical "Madden curse." While the curse's impact has waned in recent years, its early prevalence can not be ignored.
Eleven of the first 14 players to be primarily featured on the game's cover suffered a rough season in the year they were put on the cover. Injuries plagued Marshall Faulk (Madden 2003) and Donovan McNabb (Madden 06) while bad performances threw off the careers of Daunte Culpepper (Madden 2002) and Vince Young (Madden 08).
Calvin Johnson effectively broke the curse after appearing on the cover of Madden 13. Since then, only one player, Antonio Brown (Madden 19), has suffered a meltdown season after appearing on the cover.
McCaffrey could be in line for another productive season if the curse stays away for another year. But the curse could lurk its way to San Francisco if he's not careful.