Why the Madden Curse Isn't Real

The Madden curse has been talked about for over two decades. But does it actually exist?
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[@pokeblogger678]

Being the first overall draft pick is infinitely more cursed than being on the madden cover.

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

Oh yeah.

[@Theshowguy-vh8il]

Not necessarily but yeah

[@EZSNlPES]

Peyton manning

[@Sawyer.Williams]

We’ll see how bryce young does this year

[@jamesonmatheis7144]

2nd pick

[@joemolnar3]

Barry Sanders bowling the worst game of his life after making the Madden 14(25) cover and we STILL have doubters?? Smh

[@LucasSparks-mn7xx]

🤣this is too funny

[@pepperboi2227]

Calvin Johnson was already cursed with being on the Lions which was so powerful it broke the madden curse

[@moopert86]

Gotta let the curse's effects last forever, it's totally on the curse that he retired early because he was tired of dealing with the Lions. Let's spread this out a bit. We'll allow every bad thing ever to happen to a guy to count as the curse. Tom Brady's divorce? Madden curse Tom Brady's final season being the first losing season of his career? Cursed a second time for a second cover. Jackson Mahomes being a total douche? Madden curse. Britney Mahomes being insufferable? Second curse for a second cover. Dog fighting arrest for Vick? Double dipping the curse. Being stuck playing the rest of his career on the Cardinals? Madden curse hitting Larry Fitzgerald low on that one. And is it a coincidence that almost every player ever on the Madden cover has retired? Eddie George may still be playing today if not for this horrible curse...

[@A_Bouncing_Seal]

“Daddy Clocks” came out of nowhere 💀

[@aarontaylor9345]

Brett Favre wasn't cursed when he switched from the Packers to the Jets, he just passed the curse on to Aaron Rodgers when he did the same thing. Coincidence?!?!?!?!.... yeah probably

[@benchwarmerbran]

He passed on the curse of being an idiot

[@fredb3400]

Technically, he retired after the cover, and the Packers felt cursed, so....😅

[@fredb3400]

​@benchwarmerbran I'd blame the cheese. I'm French and I wouldn't trust eating something that looks like a sweaty orange brick. #FkCheddar

[@meattroller8853]

Is it coincidence or is it a sound franchise preparing a succession plan at qb and a shitshow franchise in desperation mode?

[@huebus]

@@fredb3400 you mad that some little state in the Midwest makes better cheese 😂😂

[@elijansma9071]

I think the reason people still claim the curse is real is that they extend the years the "Madden Curse" affects to about 5 years. For example, if Andrew Luck was on the cover in 2014, they'd claim his early retirement in 2018 was part of the curse

[@aguy5758]

That's why people would consider Calvin Johnson, OBJ, AB, AP, and Ray Lewis to be cursed due to off the field issues and careers falling off

[@bigfootsb284]

@@aguy5758 Don’t forget about Micheal Vick and his dog fight scandal

[@benchwarmerbran]

Exactly! Which is crazy, because bad stuff happens to everyone eventually. Even if it’s just age-related

[@matthewmazzatto8003]

@@benchwarmerbran Even some examples placed in the cursed category (Culpepper and Vick in particular) could easily be argued not to be cursed. Culpepper had his best season in 2004 and Vick broke 1k rushing yards in 2006. They rebounded well for a few seasons after their "Cursed Year". Now AB in 2018 definitely should be in Cursed. Dude had so many legal issues flaring up in 2018, and it bled over into the team chemistry. There's a reason why Days of Our Steelers continued for that entire season after the LeVeon Bell holdout was buried at the end of October, and that reason was all the BS AB was involved in.

[@ShortNinjaa]

Was not expecting a Friday night full length BenchwarmerBran video 18 minutes into the hour, but I am NOT complaining

[@OceanLake66]

Madden curse is real. Most of these players are retired so if you’re on the cover you’re probably gonna retire at some point

[@TheItalianMafias]

It’s not real people just wanna believe it that the madden curse is real. Just delusional people

[@ENCAGED79]

@@TheItalianMafiasYou missed the sarcasm in the comment 😂

[@TheItalianMafias]

@@ENCAGED79 the first part people believe it is but the second was a joke so I didn’t miss anything

[@ENCAGED79]

@@TheItalianMafias Right, but the comment as a whole was sarcasm. It does no justice to pick apart the comment sentence by sentence, as that’s not how it was intended to be read. Therefore, you’ve missed the sarcastic tone of the overall comment

[@TheItalianMafias]

@@ENCAGED79 I didn’t miss anything but whatever tickles your fantasy, ya have a good day

[@9timepokechamp]

And speaking of the lunatic known as AB, Urinating Tree can tell you all about him since Tree is "a fan"

[@dodgersjb]

Days of our Steelers the 2018 season really shows how bad AB was not as a player but as locker room issue that held back the Steelers the year after the cover(or year of forgot)

[@9timepokechamp]

@dodgersjb yep, I, too, have watched days of our Steelers

[@worfsonofmogh1154]

He's the one exception to the curse not applying year of. So instead of 18-7, I'll say 17-8, but still, Madden Curse seems overblown. That said, maybe that's just what the Madden gods want us to think.

[@dakametron7777]

If CMC does get injured and misses half the regular season but somehow comes top 5 in OPOY voting, it isn’t the Madden curse. It’s just an average season for CMC

[@AlbySoundOff]

That’s literally what happened to him recently

[@duncanmcgee13]

I always viewed the curse as "youre either getting injured or your team isnt going all the way"

[@devinm9245]

ah nice soft net for a catchall, meanwhile mahomes and brady go all the way?

[@ashleyjade5607]

That would just be literally everyone outside of the players on the Superbowl winner who never got hurt. That feels way too broad to apply to a Madden curse lmao

[@Gic424_YT]

Same

[@danielward2130]

One could argue that the curse affects players in different ways. While some may see a slump in stats, others may have a catastrophic injury or lose in a key game.

[@user-en9qd5nx8w]

It's football, so the chance of serious injury is already really high compared to let's say golf. Just the physical nature of the game is going to increase a players "getting cursed" odds. Then if you add in positions the odds go up even more, I am guessing running backs, especially ones that have played a long time, have pretty high odds of getting hurt. So when CMC gets "cursed" this year, it wouldn't surprise me given the position he plays, his age, past injury history and number of times they feed him the ball. Even after taking all of that into consideration, Benchwarmers analysis was 7 curses to 18 not cursed. The curse is bs, oh wait, I better knock on wood. ;)

[@MrAIProd]

It’s cooled down in recent years. Josh Allen, Brady, Mahomes, they’re all fine, and for the record, Lamar did win the MVP last year. I think the end of the madden curse was before madden 19, and the rest of these guys have remained “X Factors in the league” (madden pun… ok I’ll be quiet) but that’s my opinion

[@ghost_frost]

CBS Sports taking some notes rn

[@MrRdg1993]

The most interesting thing about the "curse" was how much Chargers fans wanted LaDainian Tomlinson to avoid that cover so much because of Shaun Alexander situation which is why Vince Young was on the Madden 08 cover

[@fredb3400]

He set the TD record that year and he was our only weapon. Can you blame us?

[@daltonriser1125]

The 3DO was a console in the late 90s but was much less popular partially due to how ridiculously expensive the system was

[@GreyMage]

And terrible games.

[@tedmich]

$1,521.44 in inflation adjusted USD!

[@fazzle1]

The real Madden Curse for Madden 21 is how hideous that cover art is

[@extraterrestrialroom2540]

If cmc gets hurt this year you have to make a videos called “Why the madden curse is real” and it’s a 5 minute video watching the play he got hurt on a loop.

[@ReyDaRza]

Glazing over injuries is wild

[@HectorG24812]

Love the long form content brotha keep it goin

[@therealDJG]

The real Madden Curse is how bad the game has been the last 11-12 years.

[@KinGxSTuDx]

ngl Tom Brady on Madden 18 should count. There is no way that Eagles vs Pats SB would go the way it did again. Brady did lose to a very mid QB in Eli Manning 2x but Foles? 💀 Absolute one off chance.

[@fredb3400]

We all lost when the Eagles won.

[@TheItalianMafias]

Well Brady still the best qb than Eli and foles who couldn’t succeed further into their careers like Brady did so the madden 18 doesn’t count if he lost to the Super Bowl in 2017 not 18

[@user-en9qd5nx8w]

10 Super Bowl appearances, 7 Super Bowl wins. He won a SB in the first year of playing at a new team, in their home stadium. The dude is not cursed. If anything he's lucky, he should have lost the SB to the Falcons and Seahawks if it wasn't for bad game management and coaching decisions.

[@fnjkdsnfjn]

Favre and Sherman were cursed. In Favres cover season,the Jets were 8-3, collapsed and missed the playoffs with Brady out for the year. Sherman’s cover season ended with him becoming a meme.

[@user-en9qd5nx8w]

When you choose to go to the Jets as a player, you pretty much are accepting that it's going to be a shite-show.

[@Iamhungey]

@@user-en9qd5nx8w Jets QB position is cursed itself, no Madden Curse is needed for that.

[@carloshatch]

Bro Hearst was definitely cursed 😂

[@epictrickshots8327]

The curse hit AB so hard

[@benchwarmerbran]

If by “the curse” you mean “Vontaze Burfict”, I agree

[@epictrickshots8327]

@@benchwarmerbran 🤣🤣🤣

[@fredb3400]

​@benchwarmerbran he got Burflicted to oblivion!

[@user-tj8em6kk2p]

@@benchwarmerbran Was that hit the same year he was on the cover?

[@littleblackduck3134]

How bout the Madden Madden curse.. losing 5 of 6 AFC Championship Games , including 4 straight

[@W.13th]

If Hearst was _already_ performing like "Madden" curse victims do *AFTER* their cover appearance then he wouldnt've been on the cover to begin with. If players are performing like they're cursed *BEFORE* appearing on a Madden cover then there'd be no "Madden" curse @ all.

[@WolfDB]

I know you said you're limiting it to just the season they were on the cover, but I think if anyone should've had more of their stuff covered, it's Donovan McNabb, who not only said he didn't believe it was real before being put on the cover, but would proceed to have his entire career get destroyed after he appeared on the cover while still being in the prime of his life.

[@G-MoneyRL]

Thanks Bran, i needed this after CMC was announced for Madden while also being on my fantasy team

[@user-tj8em6kk2p]

Check out the Campbell's Chunky Soup curse.

[@TheKingQP]

My criteria for the madden curse, is 1. Is the player affected, or 2. Is his team affected. So if a player plays good, but his team doesn’t make the playoffs, it’s the curse. Seeing as teams can make the playoffs at random,(2017 jaguars), if a player is playing good and doesn’t seem affected, his team absolutely sucks. And is guaranteed to not win superbowl

[@Nick_T_90]

To counter your AB point that was the year he started to go crazy

[@E-Brightvoid]

Daddy Clocks has me fucking SENT😂😂😂😂😂

[@Kilometers_KPH]

If the Madden Curse isn't real, then why did the Bills go wide right in the playoffs and choke, again, to the Chiefs? Allen was on the cover.

[@1reefshark]

I think Madden has just played it a lot safer with the cover lately, mostly picking established stars rather than one year wonders. Odell was probably the riskiest cover in recent years in that regard lol

[@moopert86]

If you feature people enough times, eventually by statistical average bad things will happen to some of them. Madden just happened to get a lot of them at the start of featuring athletes on the cover. If CMC gets hurt this year, they'll be quick to bring up the Madden curse, even though him missing games is not an uncommon thing.

[@aaronpeters6209]

Seems you could argue for the curse prior to 2012. Then it ceased to be a thing thereafter. Likely helped that one current RB was chosen for the cover after 2012. Plus, bonafide pro bowlers & only one younger defensive player. Polamalu was 29 & Lewis, 30. Sherman, 27. You have overall convinced me its bologna. And the people who select the cover didn't screen potential candidates well.

[@Neon_Koopa]

Super glad you did a vid on the Madden curse. AB is definitely an outlier but the curse has definitely been broken for years. I do however think it’s a weirdly interesting concept and hope it stays the same way for CMC (not the 49ers tho)

[@jmp2826]

Payton Hillis averaged almost 60 yards a game in 2011. He just had nagging injuries that limited his play to 10 games

[@Maddengator28]

I 101% agree with you.

[@neBen_]

Daddy Clocks has me rolling on the floor

[@Schwagg86]

Of course it’s not real. It’s just fun to pretend when someone you don’t like/isn’t on your team is on the cover

[@W4kT3k]

Winning the Superbowl means you weren't cursed, but not winning the Superbowl doesn't mean you were cursed?

[@RalstonProdz]

I wanna remind you of the wises Quote bran ever said “the bar is so low a drunk hamster could jump over it” 🗿🗿🗿

[@joemolnar3]

The split screen between cursed and not cursed looks like the 22 Jump Street split when they both trippin 😂😂

[@chrisbarry9345]

The only 1.01 scouting video you need

[@JohnGramer06]

Limiting the Madden curse to ONE YEAR doesn't make sense. AB and AP both got hit the following year, and Madden doesn't only curse injuries that's just most common.

[@thisguy18x]

Peyton Hillis only had a great year because of Lawrence Vickers. When your FB take 2 or 3 players out of the play consistently, running becomes very easy.

[@matthias8896]

Ea has been avoiding the curse by not putting pure running quarterbacks on the cover half the years. Those guys usually weren't able to keep their streaks going.

[@adamskirko4517]

Feel like theres a little Pats fan bias for the Sherman one considering they did end up losing on the single most heartbreaking play in Super Bowl history to said Patriots and Sherman also got injured and played the end of the Packers game and the Super Bowl with nerve damage in one of his arms

[@anthonypickar467]

Love you bran !!!

[@PanthersFan44]

People: MADDEN CURSE IS REAL!! Madden: the cover athlete is Payton Hillis

[@BeauAnders0]

bran provoking the curse to come out of its slumber

[@DeadManGaming19]

Id argue that Adrian Petersons year was cursed wasnt 2014 the year he got in trouble for child abuse and got suspended and almost lost his whole career? The madden curse covers more than football, its like a Monkey Paw, TB losing to a Backup QB in the Super Bowl is another

[@dallas8909]

I really enjoyed the concept of this video man I found your shorts on insta and KZbin so I subscribed and followed and love all the content you put out

[@xinaro8682]

If the niners win the super bowl with CMC being MVP - regular and SB - he will be a system RB.

[@EvanS3232]

Make this go viral pls

[@griffinhays2053]

3:43 I'm surprised he didn't mention with Faulk that it's not like he got banged up and only rushed for like 700 yards that year, he put up 953. He was one good half of football from extending that 1000 yard streak

[@danplewnarz]

Shaun Alexander wasn't so much cursed, as he just no longer had FOUR All-Pro blockers, three of them Hall of Famers.

[@barkley-ql8vq]

2:12 what is baker mayfield doing here on the bucs

[@TheTrueBatBrain]

I would say setting record numbers and then having a horrific multi year injury still counts as being cursed. Because all of that success and work only for it to be rewarded with that is some cursed shit

[@baddayoverdosed]

Peyton Hillis was more cursed by having to go from Mike Shannahan in his rookie year where he showed flashes of his talent to having Josh McDaniels his second year where he drove all the offensive talent out of town! Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshal and Hillis were all pro bowl caliber players that AFTER McDaniels took over

[@MEGARAYMANable]

I think the AB is more about the complete drama filled disaster of the steelers that year, your forgetting that AB decided to rationally throw furniture out a 14th floor window, and nearly killed a child while doing so that year

[@BrendonG0605]

I’m calling it now. From Troy polamalu to gronk was 7 years from gronk to cmc is 8 years but if you take away the 23 cover it is 7 years. So if we don’t really include the Payton hillis cover bc it shouldn’t have happened. CMC could fall victim if the pattern was to continue

[@bonthecuber]

i mean yea i guess

[@anthony1468]

The Curse ALSO AFFECTS THE TEAM PLUS THE PLAYER ON THE COVER

[@TillmanStudios]

I really don't think that Faulk one works. Back then, running backs could last well into their 30s because they were simply just built different and used more. Sure, that argument might work today, but I really don't think it holds up in the past.

[@skotty253]

As a Dad, don't think I didn't hear and recognize the "Hey Bear Sensory" backtrack, Brandon lol.

[@Audisknfj]

The niners lost 4 NFCCG and 3 Superbowls in the last 12 years. You can’t curse us further than that

[@noahbeck3155]

Your clone followed my friend on TikTok and asked him to talk about the current state of the crypto market. I promptly laughed my head off. 😭💀

[@turtleeeeeee214]

The fact that you put Antonio brown on the not cursed section is wild

[@KevinicusPD]

I think the Madden "curse" is more a product of the cover often going to young exciting players that still haven't fully established themselves (see Vince Young, Culpepper, Hillis, OBJ, Vick etc), as well as just often featuring RBs in general, who are always at the highest risk to drop off after a banner year because of work load and injuries.

[@ThePribylProductions]

Hearing Bran say 3DO is so weird lmaoooo never thought I'd see that

[@IGI_Media]

Fantastic research Nicely put together No KZbin curse here, Nicely Done !!!

[@Mr.X2188]

Tbh, you have changed my opinion on the curse slightly. It has affected players less than I thought, but I still think it exists. I know you only counted things that happened to the players the year they were on the cover, but I think the curse goes beyond that. Last year, the Bills had what is probably the most heartbreaking loss of the Josh Allen era. I think that counts towards the curse. Or 2018 when Brady lost the Super Bowl to a second string qb. I think that should count as well.

[@evankummer1629]

So for Faulk age can play in to a decline is stats but for Alexander age can't play in to durability?

[@TheStreamW]

11:35 finally someone said it

[@buzzed0nbeer21]

The Bills are prolly the most unlucky team ever under Allen and if it didn’t strike him it’s not really a thing anymore. So CMC will be fine. Take it from a Bills fan that was worried all season that it would strike.

[@eeik5150]

The real Madden Curse is the game itself. It’s crap every fkn year.

[@bigfootsb284]

I believe that the “Madden Curse” takes time for it to affect players but it doesn’t have to do with on field performance, the year on the cover. It could have to do with off-field issues. Lamar did get injured in the playoffs in the Madden 21 season. It’s difficult to tell whether it’s a coincidence but there’s something about being on the cover of Madden. I understand that the stats are not indicative of the Madden Curse. I don’t think it was Josh Allen that was cursed but it was the Bills team was cursed. The Wide Right 2.0 in the playoffs against the Chiefs. Plus, Bills Mafia was on the cover of madden to. Also it might affect the team in different ways. It’s not the player that’s cursed

[@hungrypandastudios6213]

Calvin did sadly drop the catch that wouldve put him over 2000 yards

[@NoahSmoulder]

BenchwarmerBran is the GOAT!!!

[@jedimindtrix2120]

I know how your saying it has to be the year of the cover for the curse but if you look past that part something bad has had happened to them i can list them

[@fredb3400]

The madden curse is real. The difference is that it's not the cover athlete, we're the cursed ones when we buy those crashing roster updates.

[@huebus]

If you put Alexander as cursed because his ironman streak came to an end, Favre 100% got cursed. It was his first missed game in like 10 years

[@BILLS_ON_TOP]

Lol his nerd voice 😂

[@AilinOGriobhtha]

Yeah any remnant of the madden curse was murdered in cold blood by Calvin Johnson when he stole its soul and the souls of every poor bastard corner and safety tandem who had to double him every single game that year. Also, it's really hard to get touchdowns when you're facing coverages normally reserved for gunners on fucking punt returns down in the redzone...

[@delwinalvarez8086]

Sounds like the "Madden Curse" is all about the player. A player with an ego who lets it go to their head suffers

[@dimakeane9817]

As a dad, hearing the Dancing Fruit music in the background of this video drove me mad trying to figure out where I had heard it before😂😂

[@mitchcarter3906]

Daunte Culpepper on the Madden cover

[@mnm2317]

Saints fan here. Brees was NOT cursed.... he doesn't play defense and look at the playoff game and how many points they put up. It hurts, but the cover is not to blame the TYPICAL Saints defense (pre-2020) is.

[@Scyon13]

Megatron definitely cursed he had to play for the lions

[@robertgraff5516]

Another aspect of the "curse": Generally, people had very good seasons the year before they were put on the cover, often the best of their careers to that point. That's going to lead to a lot of "underperformances".

[@KeepPoundingProductions]

Convinced me

[@biznatch112]

The madden curse left the recent ones to beat down on antonio brown some more

[@mccor002]

"Most infamous?" Michael Vick? OJ Simpson? Ray Lewis?

[@_The_real_ones]

Lamar in the 21-22 season is why we call him a running back

[@curiousKuro16]

I always thought that the curse was in effect the year after the cover came out? So a player would be on the game, and the year after get less targets or get hurt or switch teams or something. But truthfully, I never thought of it as more than a little fun. Do people take the curse that seriously?

[@DeannaJacksonDJsDelectables]

I never believed in the Madden Curse, and this video pretty much sums up my thoughts on it.

[@finsnation5713]

I don’t think it’s a curse I just think one slightly bad thing happens to you like you have a little bit of a statistical down season example Adrian Peterson or you get hurt for a little bit example Patrick Mahomes in 2020

[@nevets1726]

Josh Allen's "career high" 15 rushing TDs also TIED THE NFL RECORD... Yeah, he ain't cursed.