Tuesday morning, former Central Michigan star and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown was announced as the cover athlete for Madden NFL 2019, the popular football video game.
Brown’s selection should be seen as an honor. Being picked as a Madden cover athlete (usually) means the player is one of the NFL’s elite and most recognizable players.
Some, though, believe in what’s called the "Madden curse" — where a cover athlete’s health or performance suffers in the season following their display as the cover athlete.
But is that still a thing?
The Free Press staff took a look at the past 10 cover athletes to see whether the curse is real, or whether Brown has nothing to worry about.