It’s probably considered to be sacrilegious in some circles, but we really don’t care about the cover of the Madden game. Sure, it might sell a few extra copies each year, given the increasing number of consumers who realize that the product itself doesn’t change all that much from year to year.
And we also don’t believe in the Madden jinx, a ridiculous stigma that hasn’t been fully borne out by reality.
But the identity of the cover athlete is newsworthy, because some people apparently have way too much time on their hands.
For the first time, EA has issued a list of finalists. Per SportsBusiness Daily, there are nine: Steelers S Troy Polamalu, Colts QB Peyton Manning, Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald, Chiefs QB Matt Cassel, Cowboys LB DeMarcus Ware, Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, Giants RB Brandon Jacobs, Vikings RB Adrian Peterson, and Ravens S Ed Reed.
The “winner” will be announced on April 24.
The gimmick seems a bit hokey to us, and we wonder whether the nine players are being paid simply to be listed as finalists — or whether this falls under the purview of the NFLPA’s group licensing rules.
It’s also possible that all nine of them will be on the cover. If each of them would then suffer a serious injury or suddenly develop an acute case of suck, maybe we’d take the whole Madden curse thing more seriously.
It has been long believed that certain superstar-level players (like Peyton Manning) have wanted too much money to serve as the cover athlete, and to engage in the requisite appearances and promotional activities. Indeed, few true franchise quarterbacks ever have appeared on the cover of the game.