Fans of the New Orleans Saints are waiting for the 2019 NFL Draft to kick off, but there’s a bit of news on the way first: the reveal of “Madden NFL 20,” the latest entry in the super-successful series of video games from EA Sports. This year’s cover is graced by Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the reigning league MVP. Good luck to him in avoiding the dreaded Madden cover curse.
Saints running back Alvin Kamara, the 2017 Offensive Rookie of the Year, was apparently considered for the cover. The young Saints star shared a video on his official Twitter account earlier Thursday, showing him at a photo shoot dressed in the Saints’ “Color Rush” alternate uniform. Similar videos were posted by Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
Fortunately for Saints fans, Kamara will have dodged the stigma that surrounds the “Madden” cover curse. Something often seems to go awry for the player selected for the cover; it’s not always as wild as Antonio Brown (last year’s cover athlete) becoming such a problem for the Steelers that they trade him, but misfortune seems to follow. The year before last, Tom Brady graced the cover, but his New England Patriots were outplayed by Nick Foles in Super Bowl LII.
Maybe Kamara can beat it, someday. For now, any such curse isn’t his problem.
