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Christian McCaffrey Congratulates Saquon Barkley on Madden Cover

Christian McCaffrey has to be ecstatic today.
Jose Sanchez|
Nov 10, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) celebrates after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Nov 10, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) celebrates after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

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.

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Jose Luis Sanchez III
JOSE SANCHEZ

Jose Luis Sanchez III has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily for FanNation since 2019. He started off as the lead publisher for FanNation's All49ers, then switched positions to become the Deputy Editor in 2020. Sanchez writes, edits, and produces videos daily for All49ers. He also co-hosts a show on YouTube with All49ers lead publisher Grant Cohn weekly. Prior to FanNation, Sanchez started his writing career back in 2016 for the school newspaper at Skyline college where he covered all sports team in the Bay Area. Following that from 2017 to 2019, he found a role as a contributor for FanSided's news desk along with their site's Just Blog Baby covering the Las Vegas Raiders and Golden Gate Sports every professional Bay Area sports team. Atop all of that, he was able to graduate with a Bachelors degree in Communication Studies at San Francisco State University in 2020. Sanchez is committed to ensuring he delivers transparent analysis and straightforward opinions that resonates with readers to get them thinking.

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