Madden does many things for many people. The "Madden curse" is one that's suspected by many, and believed to be true by more.

What is the "Madden curse" though? It is a belief that any player who graces the cover of Madden is cursed to have a poor season. Ever since Eddie George graced the cover of Madden 2001, something has inevitably gone wrong with the cover boy's season or career following his appearance on the cover.

However, looking back, it could be traced to Madden 2000 when Barry Sanders graced the cover, along with John Madden who was in his last year on the cover. After gracing the cover, Sanders abruptly retired before training camp of the 1999 season. The cover was redone halfway through the season to feature Green Bay Packers running back Dorsey Levens. Levens had come off career years, seeing a Super Bowl win and three NFC Conference Championship appearances in the previous four years. Throughout the remainder of the 1999 season, Levens became wracked with injuries, and the following season, was relegated to reserve back duties, becoming the team's backup running back.

Eddie George came next, gracing the cover of Madden 2001. While statistically, George set career bests in yards, attempts, and touchdowns, he had a costly drop which led to a season ending interception in their Division Series loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The following year, George had career lows in those same statistics and some would argue that while his numbers improved, he never recovered from that season before retiring after the 2004 season.

With Madden 2002 came Daunte Culpepper, who in the previous season had led the Minnesota Vikings to the NFC Conference Championship game. The Vikings struggled, in 2001, seeing their previous season devolve into a wholly disappointing 4-7 record before seeing Culpepper injured with a season ending knee injury.

Madden 2003 brought Marshall Faulk to the cover. Faulk's career had been on the rise in recent years, seeing a Super Bowl victory in 2000; however, after gracing the cover, Faulk's rushing yards on the season fell below 1,000 for the first time since 1996 while still with the Indianapolis Colts. This combined with poor play out of the Rams to result in a 7-9 record and missing the playoffs.

Madden 2004 was the point at which the curse began to get media coverage with Michael Vick. During the pre-season of the 2003 NFL season, Vick broke his leg, missing the first eleven weeks of the regular season. To top matters off, the broken fibula occurred a mere day after Madden 2004 hit shelves. The Falcons proceeded to go 5-11, only having Vick for a total of five games that year.

Ray Lewis' appearance on the cover of Madden 2005 is one that is, like with Eddie George, what produces skepticism in the curse. Lewis, coming off a season recording career numbers in interceptions, failed to record an interception and sat out the last game of the 2004 season due to an injury. The following season, Lewis tore his right hamstring during the Ravens' sixth game and sat out the remainder of the season. However, many argue his 2005 injury bypasses the range of the curse and talks of the curse were quelled for a time.

With Madden 2006, the talks of the curse returned when Donovan McNabb, coming off a season ending in a Super Bowl loss and five straight playoff appearances, proceeded to be diagnosed with a sports hernia in week 1 of the 2005 season, had his number one receiver in Terrell Owens suspended for conduct detrimental to the team, then sat out the last seven games after re-injuring himself.

At the start of the season, McNabb had been quoted by ESPN as saying the previous perils of the Madden cover boys "might be a trend, but I don't believe in the curse at all."

Finally, with the recent Madden 2007, Shaun Alexander graced the cover. While there is most definitely time to improve his season, thus far Alexander has only averaged 62.3 yards per game, maxing out at eighty-nine yards during a week two performance versus the Arizona Cardinals. Following his week three performance against the New York Giants, Alexander was diagnosed with a fractured foot after two separate tests confirmed the result.

The cover boys of Madden have made a solid case for belief in the curse. Kyle Schwerin, Kleshreen of the Madden Mania forums said "I'm never ever taking anyone on my fantasy team who is on the Madden cover that year."

Curse or merely trend, the "Madden curse" definitely makes a quality case for those contacted to appear on the cover to weigh their options before committing themselves to the cover.