Christian McCaffrey Congratulates Saquon Barkley on Madden Cover

Christian McCaffrey was the first player from the San Francisco 49ers to grace the cover of the Madden video game.

He was given that honor for the last installment: Madden 25. Unfortunately, being the cover of the video game is viewed more as a curse than an honor.

It seems that a majority of the time, the player who is the cover for the famed video game ends up having a down season. For McCaffrey, his 2025 season was plagued by injuries.

The superstition says that it was due to the Madden cover curse. And now, that curse is exercised by McCaffrey as the new Madden is releasing soon.

The player who has been named for the cover of the next installment of Madden is Philadelphia Eagles' Saquon Barkley. McCaffrey took to social media to congratulate him.

"Saquon, congrats man," said McCaffrey. "Madden 26 for number 26. It's my honor to pass down the Madden cover to you. Keeping it within the running back family. We got to keep it that way. So fired up for you man. You've been pushing the standards since college, and to see all your success is no shock to me. So, congrats man. Enjoy it, and hope to see you soon."

Translation: Thank you so much for taking this Madden cover from me because the curse is real.

In all seriousness, I doubt McCaffrey has bought into that superstition. But I would bet it has crossed his mind because he had some serious misfortune in 2024.

If he ends up mostly healthy and still productive in 2025, his Madden curse will surely be brought back up again as a reference for his 2024 shortcomings.