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Caleb Williams' leaked Madden NFL 27 cover has Bears fans worried: ‘Curse could hit soon’
A leaked Madden NFL 27 cover appears to show Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams performing his signature “Iceman” celebration.
EA Sports’ Madden NFL video game has never featured a player from the Chicago Bears on its cover. However, that long-standing trend could soon come to an end, as recent leaked images and reports surrounding the upcoming edition suggest a Bears star may finally be set to grace the game's cover.
MUTLeaks, a popular college football gaming account on X with more than 125,000 followers, shared images on Saturday that purportedly reveal the covers of the upcoming Madden NFL 27 and College Football 27 video games.
Leaked cover features Caleb Williams
The leaked Madden NFL 27 cover notably features Caleb Williams, the Chicago Bears quarterback, striking his trademark “Iceman” celebration pose.
While the MUTLeaks account primarily focuses on leaks related to the Ultimate Team modes in both features, it has built a reputation for accurately revealing player content, promotional packs, and other game details ahead of official announcements.
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Even without official confirmation of the leak, the 24-year-old quarterback would be a logical choice for the next Madden cover athlete given his standout campaign with the Bears. He guided the franchise to an 11-6 record and its first NFC North title since 2018.
Bears fans fear Madden curse
However, the possibility of Caleb Williams appearing on the Madden cover has also revived discussion around the long-standing “Madden Curse.”
Over the years, the popular football video game franchise has developed a reputation among fans for seeing many of its cover athletes suffer injuries, setbacks, or disappointing seasons shortly after being featured on the game's cover.
The track record for quarterbacks featured on the Madden NFL cover has done little to ease concerns about the so-called “Madden Curse.”
The outlet noted that, when compared to their previous seasons, the 12 quarterbacks who had appeared on the cover saw their passing production decline on average during their cover years.
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“On average, compared to the year prior, their passing yards dropped by 10.9%, passing touchdowns fell by 25.3%, and interceptions increased by 45.5%,” Underdog Sports wrote in a post on X.
Chicago Bears fans fear that Williams could become the latest player affected by the infamous “Madden Curse” if the leaked cover proves to be genuine.
Concerns quickly surfaced across social media, with one fan summing up the sentiment by posting, “Caleb getting hit with the curse now.”
Another fan wrote, “Delete this bro Caleb can’t be the cover we don’t need nun of that bad luck.”
One more user wrote, “Let’s gooooo Caleb getting dat cover curse!!!”
