In 1984, video game developers Electronic Arts approached future Hall of Famer John Madden about making a video game. Four years later a game called "John Madden Football" was released. Since then, a new edition hit the market every single year and has made it one of the most popular and most successful video game series with over 100 million sold copies since 1988.
In the early days, Madden himself was pictured on the cover. While players were added in subsequent editions, the former coach always was a part of the cover – until the year 2000 when Madden was removed and Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George became the first player to solely grace the game’s cover.
Even though the New England Patriots started their run as the NFL’s most successful franchise one year later, it took until last year – when "Madden NFL 17" hit the market – for one of the team’s players to become Madden’s cover boy. Tight end Rob Gronkowski received the honor of being the first Patriot to do that.
And now, only one year later, another member of the team graces the Madden cover: quarterback Tom Brady.
On August 25, the newest Madden game will be released and two different versions will be available. The standard version and the "G.O.A.T." version, a collector’s edition which will include additional features. One thing that will be the same in both versions is the reigning Super Bowl MVP gracing the cover.
Of course, one of the initial thoughts of seeing Brady on the cover will be the so-called "Madden curse". New England’s quarterback obviously knows this as well and tackled the issue right during the announcement of him as the cover model:
Now I’ve heard there are some of you out there who might be worried about something called the "Madden Curse". There’s no such things as curses, it’s a total myth. Okay?
They wouldn't let me break the full-length mirror... All good!
Posted by Tom Brady on Friday, May 12, 2017