Cover Athlete

CONCEPT

A real-life athlete who appears on the cover art of a sports game. Usually an up-and-coming star in the sport or a perennial fan favorite.

Concept Images Related Pages

EditHistoryPage info

The Madden Curse

For the last decade, instead of featuring John Madden on the cover, EA has chosen to display a top NFL player on the cover of their annual Madden game. Almost every year, though, the player featured on the cover of Madden unexpectedly experiences a decline in performance or play time, usually due to injury. Notable players who suffered from the curse include Dante Culpepper (knee injury, 2002), Marshall Faulk (ankle injury, 2003), Ray Lewis (hamstring injury, 2005), Donovan McNabb (sports hernia, 2006), Shaun Alexander (broken foot, 2007), and, of course, Michael Vick. Setting aside superstition, many analysts blame this trend on regression, the "bounce-back" that naturally occurs after a period of extraordinary success (or lack of success.)

Games view all →]

• AFL 99 (Game)
• AFL Live (Game)
• Actua Soccer 2 (Game)
• Actua Soccer 3 (Game)
• Actua Tennis (Game)
• Al Unser Jr.'s Road to the Top (Game)
• All Star Pro-Wrestlng II (Game)
• All Star Tennis '99 (Game)
• All Star Tennis 2000 (Game)
• All-Pro Football 2K8 (Game)
• All-Star Baseball '99 (Game)
• All-Star Baseball 2000 (Game)
• All-Star Baseball 2001 (Game)
• All-Star Baseball 2002 (Game)
• All-Star Baseball 2003 (Game)
• All-Star Baseball 2004 (Game)
• All-Star Baseball 2005 (Game)
• Andre Agassi Tennis (Game)
• Arena Football (Game)
• Arena Football: Road to Glory (Game)
• Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf (Game)
• Ayrton Senna Kart Duel (Game)
• Ayrton Senna Kart Duel 2 (Game)
• Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II (Game)
• Backyard Baseball '10 (Game)
• Backyard Baseball 2007 (Game)
• Backyard Baseball 2009 (Game)
• Backyard Basketball 2007 (Game)
• Backyard Football '08 (Game)
• Backyard Football '09 (Game)
• Backyard Football 2002 (Game)
• Backyard Hockey (Game)
• Backyard Sports Football 2007 (Game)
• Barkley: Shut Up and Jam! (Game)
• Bases Loaded 3 (Game)
• Bassin's Black Bass with Hank Parker (Game)
• Best Shot Pro Golf (Game)
• Bill Elliott's NASCAR Challenge (Game)
• Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball (Game)
• Blitz: The League (Game)
• Blitz: The League II (Game)
• Bo Jackson: Two Games In One (Game)
• Brett Hull Hockey '95 (Game)
• Brett Hull Hockey (Game)
• Brian Lara Cricket '99 (Game)
• Brian Lara International Cricket 2005 (Game)
• Brian Lara International Cricket 2007 (Game)
• Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling 2 (Game)
• Brunswick World Tournament of Champions (Game)
• Cal Ripken Jr. Baseball (Game)
• Champions World Class Soccer (Game)
• College Hoops 2K6 (Game)
• College Hoops 2K7 (Game)
• College Hoops 2K8 (Game)
• Cricket 07 (Game)
• Cricket 19 (Game)
• Cricket 26 (Game)
• Cyber Tiger (Game)
• Daley Thompson's Olympic Challenge (Game)
• David Beckham Soccer (Game)
• Doug Flutie's Maximum Football 2019 (Game)
• Dr. J and Larry Bird Go One on One (Game)
• Drazen Petrovic Basket (Game)
• EA Sports College Football 26 (Game)
• EA Sports College Football 27 (Game)
• EA Sports FC 24 (Game)
• EA Sports FC 25 (Game)
• EA Sports MMA (Game)
• EA Sports UFC (Game)
• EA Sports UFC 2 (Game)
• EA Sports UFC 3 (Game)
• EA Sports UFC 4 (Game)
• ECW Anarchy Rulz (Game)
• ECW Hardcore Revolution (Game)
• ESPN College Hoops 2K5 (Game)
• ESPN MLS ExtraTime (Game)
• ESPN MLS GameNight (Game)
• ESPN Major League Baseball (Game)
• ESPN NBA 2K5 (Game)
• ESPN NBA 2Night (Game)
• ESPN NBA 2Night 2002 (Game)
• ESPN NBA Basketball 2004 (Game)
• ESPN NFL 2K5 (Game)
• ESPN NFL Primetime 2002 (Game)
• ESPN NHL 2K5 (Game)
• ESPN NHL Hockey (Game)
• ESPN National Hockey Night (Game)
• Earl Weaver Baseball II (Game)
• Emmitt Smith Football (Game)
• Evander Holyfield's "Real Deal" Boxing (Game)
• F1 2015 (Game)
• F1 2016 (Game)
• F1 2017 (Game)
• F1 2018 (Game)
• F1 2019 (Game)
• F1 25 (Game)
• FIFA 06: Road To FIFA World Cup (Game)
• FIFA 10 (Game)
• FIFA 11 (Game)
• FIFA 12 (Game)

Concept details

Name

Cover Athlete

Aliases

Games

• AFL 99 (Game)
• AFL Live (Game)
• Actua Soccer 2 (Game)
• Actua Soccer 3 (Game)
• Actua Tennis (Game)
• Al Unser Jr.'s Road to the Top (Game)
• All Star Pro-Wrestlng II (Game)
• All Star Tennis '99 (Game)
• All Star Tennis 2000 (Game)
• All-Pro Football 2K8 (Game)
• All-Star Baseball '99 (Game)
• All-Star Baseball 2000 (Game)
• All-Star Baseball 2001 (Game)
• All-Star Baseball 2002 (Game)
• All-Star Baseball 2003 (Game)
• All-Star Baseball 2004 (Game)
• All-Star Baseball 2005 (Game)
• Andre Agassi Tennis (Game)
• Arena Football (Game)
• Arena Football: Road to Glory (Game)
• view all →

Franchises

• Has franchises: MLB SlugFest (Franchise), NBA (Franchise), TNA iMPACT! (Franchise), TNA Wrestling (Franchise), Tiger Woods (Franchise), Fight Night (Franchise), Mario (Franchise), WWE (Franchise), Punch-Out (Franchise), WCW (Franchise), Backyard Sports (Franchise), NBA 2K (Franchise), NBA Courtside (Franchise), NBA Inside Drive (Franchise), NBA Live (Franchise), UFC (Franchise), XSN Sports (Franchise), King of Colosseum (Franchise), WWE SmackDown! (Franchise), ECW (Franchise), WWE Smackdown vs. Raw (Franchise), Major League Baseball 2K (Franchise), MLB The Show (Franchise), Triple Play (Franchise), Madden NFL (Franchise), EA Sports NHL (Franchise), National Hockey League (Franchise), NHL 2K (Franchise), Pride FC (Franchise), NFL GameDay (Franchise), NFL 2K (Franchise), NFL Fever (Franchise), NFL Quarterback Club (Franchise), FIFA (Franchise), FIFA Street (Franchise), FIFA World Cup (Franchise), International Superstar Soccer (Franchise), Pro Evolution Soccer (Franchise), UEFA Champions League (Franchise), Winning Eleven (Franchise), Top Spin (Franchise), Virtua Tennis (Franchise), NASCAR (Franchise), NASCAR (EA Sports) (Franchise), NASCAR Racing (Franchise), MVP Baseball (Franchise), NCAA March Madness (Franchise), Brian Lara Cricket (Franchise), EA Sports Cricket (Franchise), All-Star Baseball (Franchise), NCAA Football (Franchise), NHL FaceOff (Franchise), NHL Hitz (Franchise), Actua Sports (Franchise), AFL Live (Franchise), MLB (Franchise), NCAA College Hoops 2K (Franchise), PDC World Championship Darts (Franchise)

Characters

• Has characters: Kurt Angle (Character), Tiger Woods (Character), Sting (Character), Hulk Hogan (Character), Triple H (Character), Carmelo Anthony (Character), Shaquille O'Neal (Character), Ben Wallace (Character), Chauncey Billups (Character), David Robinson (Character), Dwight Howard (Character), Michael Jordan (Character), Kevin Garnett (Character), Kobe Bryant (Character), LeBron James (Character), Ray Allen (Character), Randy Orton (Character), Brock Lesnar (Character), John Cena (Character), Steve Austin (Character), The Rock (Character), Ken Griffey Jr. (Character), Goldberg (Character), Brett Favre (Character), Tom Brady (Character), Kane (Character), Roman Reigns (Character), CM Punk (Character), Tito Ortiz (Character), Anderson Silva (Character), Chuck Liddell (Character), Forrest Griffin (Character), Rob Gronkowski (Character), Emmitt Smith (Character), Adrian Peterson (Character), Ray Lewis (Character), Cristiano Ronaldo (Character), Gael Monfils (Character), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Character), Alexander Ovechkin (Character), Mario Lemieux (Character), Randy Couture (Character), Jason Kidd (Character), Larry Bird (Character), Magic Johnson (Character), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Character), Steve Francis (Character), Allen Iverson (Character), Dirk Nowitzki (Character), Keith Van Horn (Character), Tracy McGrady (Character), Chris Webber (Character), Tim Duncan (Character), Tony Parker (Character), Anthony Davis (Character), Dwyane Wade (Character), Stephon Marbury (Character), Gilbert Arenas (Character), Brandon Roy (Character), Greg Oden (Character), Vince Carter (Character), Kevin Durant (Character), James Harden (Character), Kyrie Irving (Character), Mitch Richmond (Character), Tim Hardaway (Character), Peyton Manning (Character), Albert Pujols (Character), Joe Montana (Character), Serena Williams (Character), Arnold Palmer (Character), Derek Jeter (Character), Shaun Alexander (Character), Terrell Owens (Character), Donovan McNabb (Character), Butterbean (Character), Michael Vick (Character), Chipper Jones (Character), Drew Brees (Character), Steve Yzerman (Character), Jeremy Roenick (Character), Tim Howard (Character), Jonathan Toews (Character), John Elway (Character), Blake Griffin (Character), DeMar DeRozan (Character), Russell Westbrook (Character), Wayne Gretzky (Character), Andy Hug (Character), Steven Stamkos (Character), Dion Phaneuf (Character), Marshall Faulk (Character), Rickie Fowler (Character), Owen Nolan (Character), Andy Moog (Character), John Vanbiesbrouck (Character), Kelly Hrudey (Character), Martin Brodeur (Character), Scott Stevens (Character), Mike Richter (Character), Rod Brind'Amour (Character), Eric Lindros (Character), Kirk McLean (Character), Peter Forsberg (Character), Calvin Johnson (Character), Cal Ripken Jr. (Character), Curt Schilling (Character), Barry Sanders (Character), Randy Moss (Character), Richard Sherman (Character), Alex Rodriguez (Character), Yasiel Puig (Character), Barry Bonds (Character), Pedro Martinez (Character), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Character), Odell Beckham Jr. (Character), Vitali Klitschko (Character), Bode Miller (Character), Magdalena Neuner (Character), Kati Wilhelm (Character), Vince Young (Character), Patrick Mahomes II (Character), Zion Williamson (Character), Lamar Jackson (Character), Bryce Harper (Character), Luka Dončić (Character), Auston Matthews (Character), Connor McDavid (Character), Patrice Bergeron (Character), P.K. Subban (Character), Vladamir Tarasenko (Character), Claude Giroux (Character), Chris Pronger (Character), Tomas Sandstrom (Character), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Character), Joel Embiid (Character), Damian Lillard (Character), Antoine Walker (Character), Peter Schmeichel (Character), Jazz Chisholm, Jr. (Character), Yuta Tabuse (Character), Thierry Henry (Character), Edgar Davids (Character), Mario Götze (Character), Jan Schlaudraff (Character), Jennifer Capriati (Character), Eden Hazard (Character), Alexi Lalas (Character), Tim Anderson (Character), Garrison Hearst (Character), Angel Reese (Character), Quentin Sands (Character)

Locations

• Has locations: Canada (Location), The United States of America (Location), Québec (Location)

Objects

• Has objects: Sports Jersey (Object), Cleats (Object), Football (Object), Football Helmet (Object), Hockey Puck (Object), Hockey Stick (Object), Goal (Object), Stanley Cup (Object)

People

• Has people: James Buster Douglas (Person), Mike Tyson (Person), Ray Lewis (Person), Allen Iverson (Person), Tony Parker (Person), Muhammad Ali (Person), Eric Lindros (Person), Bo Jackson (Person), Derek Jeter (Person), Evander Holyfield (Person), Lennox Lewis (Person), Randy Moss (Person), Wayne Gretzky (Person), Marty Turco (Person), Rick Nash (Person)

Related Concepts

• Has related concepts: Real Photos on Cover Art (Concept), Basketball (Concept), Boston Celtics (Concept), Cleveland Cavaliers (Concept), Los Angeles Lakers (Concept), Miami Heat (Concept), National Basketball Association (Concept), Orlando Magic (Concept), Athlete (Concept), Referees (Concept), Major League Baseball (Concept), Seattle Mariners (Concept), Football Player (Concept), Madden Curse (Concept), National Football League (Concept), Ice Hockey (Concept), Social Link (Concept), Calgary Flames (Concept), Philadelphia Flyers (Concept), Washington Capitals (Concept), Baltimore Ravens (Concept), Green Bay Packers (Concept), National Hockey League (Concept), Pittsburgh Penguins (Concept), Chicago Bears (Concept), New Orleans Saints (Concept), Chicago Bulls (Concept), Shooting Guard (Concept), Washington Wizards (Concept), Golden State Warriors (Concept), Indiana Pacers (Concept), Portland Trail Blazers (Concept), Toronto Raptors (Concept), Denver Nuggets (Concept), Houston Rockets (Concept), Oklahoma City Thunder (Concept), Brooklyn Nets (Concept), Los Angeles Clippers (Concept), Detroit Pistons (Concept), Philadelphia 76ers (Concept), Sacramento Kings (Concept), San Antonio Spurs (Concept), New Orleans Pelicans (Concept), New England Patriots (Concept), Chicago Cubs (Concept), Los Angeles Angels (Concept), Atlanta Falcons (Concept), Los Angeles Rams (Concept), Los Angeles Dodgers (Concept), New York Mets (Concept), Pittsburgh Steelers (Concept), New York Yankees (Concept), Arizona Cardinals (Concept), Seattle Seahawks (Concept), Philadelphia Eagles (Concept), Atlanta Braves (Concept), Detroit Red Wings (Concept), Tampa Bay Lightning (Concept), Chicago Blackhawks (Concept), San Jose Sharks (Concept), Toronto Blue Jays (Concept), San Francisco Giants (Concept), Dallas Cowboys (Concept), Edmonton Oilers (Concept), St. Louis Blues (Concept), Vancouver Canucks (Concept), Cleveland Browns (Concept), Boston Bruins (Concept), Carolina Hurricanes (Concept), Ottawa Senators (Concept), Dallas Stars (Concept), Toronto Maple Leafs (Concept), Kansas City Chiefs (Concept), Detroit Lions (Concept), Baltimore Orioles (Concept), Boston Red Sox (Concept), Minnesota Vikings (Concept), New York Giants (Concept), Tennessee Titans (Concept), Detroit Tigers (Concept), Minnesota Twins (Concept), Pittsburgh Pirates (Concept), Philadelphia Phillies (Concept), Colorado Avalanche (Concept), Columbus Blue Jackets (Concept), Florida Panthers (Concept), New Jersey Devils (Concept), Tampa Bay Rays (Concept), Nashville Predators (Concept)