Did Christian McCaffrey Fall Victim To The Madden Curse?

Christian McCaffrey was projected to have one of the best statistical seasons of anyone in the NFL in 2024. The San Francisco 49ers running back was coming off of a career year in 2023 that saw him score 21 total touchdowns and eclipse 2,000 all-purpose yards, and his success made him the consensus pick for the top fantasy football producer for the current season. His numbers also earned him a spot on the cover of the Madden 2025 video game, which has led some to believe that McCaffrey is the latest victim of the Madden Curse.

Back in August, we analyzed some of the data surrounding what was at one time a big talking point around the video game franchise.

Did McCaffrey Fall Victim To The Madden Curse?

The Madden Curse was certainly alive and well in the early 2000s. From 2002 until 2010, seven NFL athletes saw either a noticeable drop in production or suffered some type of season-altering injury in the year that they were featured as the cover athlete for Madden.

But it looked as though the curse might have been “dead” given the results of the past 12+ years, as there were just three examples of player dropoffs between 2011 and 2023. Not since Rob Gronkowski in 2017 had we need an obvious dip in production from a cover athlete, as guys like Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes were featured in the years since.

The man who was put on the cover of the 2025 version of the game may have given The Curse new life.

Signs Point To Running Back Missing Extended Time

And to top it off, 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey is seeing a specialist in Germany regarding his Achilles tendinitis.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 23, 2024

McCaffrey was said to be dealing with Achilles issues during the off-season and training camp, though the 49ers never let on about the severity. Even just days before the start of the current campaign, the All-Pro running back was projected to be a full go for regular season action.

Three weeks into the 2024 NFL season, and McCaffrey hasn’t yet to play a single down. And it doesn’t look like things are going to get any better any time soon.

On Monday, 49ers’ head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed that McCaffrey had left the country entirely. There were rumors over the weekend that the running back had flown to Germany to see a specialist about the injury to his Achilles, which mirrors a move that the late, great Kobe Bryant utilized late in his career when dealing with knee issues.

This has not only solidified the notion that the injury is a serious one, but one that could potentially sideline McCaffrey for a majority (if not all) of the season. After missing the first week of the season, the 49ers placed him on the injured reserved list, meaning that McCaffrey’s earliest date of return would be Week 6. Now, even that is looking less and less likely by the day.

5 Of The 6 RBs Featured On Madden Cover Experienced Curse

Christian McCaffrey is likely to be out 6 weeks or more, per @RapSheet. pic.twitter.com/jBXxyKpQ1l

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) September 15, 2024

The absence of Christian McCaffrey means, unequivocally, that the Madden Curse is back.

He is the 6th running back to be featured on the cover in the video game’s history. Of those six, only Eddie George in 2001 was able to avoid the curse. Marshall Faulk, Shaun Alexander, Peyton Hillis, and Adrian Peterson all saw big dips in production during their feature season, and you can now add McCaffrey to the list.

While fantasy owners are certainly hoping to see McCaffrey return sooner rather than later, the 49ers themselves may be even more desperate. They’ve seen solid production out of backup Jordan Mason, but the rest of their offense has been ravaged by injuries as well, and San Francisco has hobbled out to a 1-2 start to the year. Getting some of their offensive firepower back would help them avoid a Super Bowl hangover, and aid them in their pursuit of defending their NFC Championship.