{"id":705079,"date":"2026-05-30T21:49:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T21:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/705079\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T21:49:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T21:49:10","slug":"madden-nfl-27-cover-rumor-sparks-caleb-williams-curse-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/705079\/","title":{"rendered":"Madden NFL 27 Cover Rumor Sparks Caleb Williams Curse Concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chicago Bears<\/a> quarterback Caleb Williams<\/a> may have just inherited the dreaded Madden curse, as a leak shows the \u201cIceman\u201d on the Madden NFL<\/a> 27 cover.<\/p>\n

Williams certainly seems deserving of the video game honor for leading the Bears to the NFL Playoffs in a season full of fun highlights and memories for the city of Chicago.<\/p>\n

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In his sophomore season for the Bears, he was seventh in the league in passing yards, throwing for 3,942, and sixth in the NFL in touchdown passes with 27. Those early improvements, along with the team\u2019s momentum into the postseason, have many people excited.<\/p>\n

Another aspect of Williams and the Bears\u2019 success last season was his durability, as he generally avoided sacks and injuries. He played in all 17 of his team\u2019s regular-season games and then in their two playoff games.<\/p>\n

More news: Titans Rookie Carnell Tate Stunned by Patrick Mahomes Card Price<\/a><\/p>\n

\"ChicagoCHICAGO, ILLINOIS \u2013 JANUARY 18: Caleb Williams #18 of the Chicago Bears warms up prior to the game against the Los Angeles Rams<\/a> in the NFC Divisional Playoffs at Soldier Field on January 18, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

However, the Madden curse is considered very real, with it supposedly affecting the video game cover star on the football field. Some believe Bears fans should be very concerned about their quarterback.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMadden curse loading for Caleb\u2026 Bears fans in shambles,\u201d a commenter wrote in the X replies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s ever been a time for the Madden curse to hit hard it\u2019s right now,\u201d another commenter said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMadden curse hitting the Indiana Bears soon I can\u2019t lose this season,\u201d someone wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf true. We won\u2019t have to worry about the bears this year. Hell yes Madden curse,\u201d an X commenter replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank god keep that curse away from JSN,\u201d someone wrote, regarding the Seattle Seahawks<\/a> star.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting that the Williams\u2019 Madden 27 cover is unconfirmed. First shared by Sleeper NFL on X, it features the Bears QB in his helmet and gear, striking the \u201cIceman\u201d pose he\u2019s made famous as the Chicago Bears quarterback.<\/p>\n

In previous years, NFL stars who appeared on the Madden video game cover didn\u2019t have the best luck during their ensuing seasons. There are multiple examples of the Madden curse<\/a> hindering players\u2019 NFL seasons and careers.<\/p>\n

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Just one day after EA\u2019s Madden NFL 2004 hit the market, cover star Michael Vick<\/a> suffered a broken leg and then missed the Atlanta Falcons<\/a>\u2019 first 11 games of the season.<\/p>\n

After Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> quarterback Donovan McNabb landed on the Madden 06 cover, he saw his streak of five straight Pro Bowl appearances snapped, suffered a sports hernia, and got into a public feud with wide receiver Terrell Owens.<\/p>\n

The Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander was the Madden 07 cover athlete, and fractured his foot in 2006. Once back on the field, he was unable to replicate the breakout season he had in 2005, finishing with far fewer rushing yards and touchdowns.<\/p>\n

More recently, the Madden 25 cover star, San Francisco 49ers<\/a> running back Christian McCaffrey<\/a>, struggled with injuries throughout his 2024 season and played in only four games.<\/p>\n

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Those are just a few examples of the curse hitting NFL players in the past, but ESPN<\/a> has also shown recent examples of players doing fine after appearing on the cover.<\/p>\n

They included Madden 18\u2019s Tom Brady<\/a>, who didn\u2019t have any major injuries and put together a strong season statistically, and Madden 20\u2019s Patrick Mahomes, who won the Super Bowl in his ensuing season.<\/p>\n

Whether the curse is fact or fiction remains to be seen. There are high expectations for the Chicago Bears after last season\u2019s turnaround under Caleb Williams, and anything less than another playoff run will likely be considered a major disappointment.<\/p>\n

More news: Jets\u2019 Geno Smith Reveals Bold Expectations Ahead of NFL Season<\/a><\/p>\n

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For more about the NFL, head over to Newsweek Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Start your unlimited Newsweek trial<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams may have just inherited the dreaded Madden curse, as a leak shows the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":705080,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[1276,64,63,1268,1248,20797,343043,1279,5347,1263,61179,593,30843,6584,1260,1262,1254,85,343042,30663],"class_list":["post-705079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-atlanta-falcons","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-caleb-williams","tag-chicago-bears","tag-christian-mccaffrey","tag-game-cover","tag-geno-smith","tag-jets","tag-los-angeles-rams","tag-michael-vick","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-playoffs","tag-patrick-mahomes","tag-philadelphia-eagles","tag-san-francisco-49ers","tag-seattle-seahawks","tag-sports","tag-the-madden-curse","tag-tom-brady"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=705079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705079\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/705080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=705079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=705079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=705079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}