Next up for the Madden Curse...

[cartman]

Vince Young. :(

hxxp://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section=33&screen=news&news_id=55690

Young to grace cover of Madden '08

Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young will be on the cover of the EA Sports Madden 2008 video game.

A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed Young’s gracing the cover of the game to The City Paper. Efforts to reach EA Sports were unsuccessful on Monday.

An official announcement is expected on Tuesday and Young will appear on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" as part of the kickoff promotion for the newest version the popular NFL video game that is endorsed by NFL Hall of Fame coach and analyst John Madden.

Of course, appearing on the cover of the game has produced a “jinx” of sorts in recent seasons.

Several players, including former Titan Eddie George, have graced the cover, then succumbed to injury or ineffectiveness in the season they were on the game’s front.

George was on the cover during the 2001 season, the year he suffered through a toe injury. In 2000, George had rushed for a career-high 1,509 yards. Because of the injury, George managed just 939 yards in 2001 as the Titans slumped from 13-3 to 7-9.

Other prominent players to fall victim to the Madden Curse include quarterbacks Donovan McNabb and Daunte Culpepper and last year’s cover man Shaun Alexander.
Young apparently will also appear in commercial spots for the game that will be aired during coverage of the NFL Draft.

[sabotai]

I wonder if anyone turns down the Madden cover offer....

[cartman]

EA Rep: Hi, I'm calling from the PR Department at Electronic Arts. Would you be interested in being on the cover of Madden?

NFL Players: Oh, hellz no. :click:

[Neuqua]

Just heard on the radio today that LT turned down the Madden cover this year. Though he isn't really about being in the spotlight so it may not have been the curse that scared him, but simply just not wanting the attention.

[MizzouRah]

I still can't believe that was the best selling game last year.

[DeToxRox]

I lost the article but LT turned it down because the money for it isn't good. It's 100-200 K according to Darren Rovell, which I know is a lot to us, but the game sells about 20 million copies at 50 bucks a pop? Don't blame them for not wanting to.

[DeToxRox]

LaDainian Tomlinson Turns Down Madden:

AP
Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young
If you believe everything you read, you would have thought that San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson was just lucky enough not to get the Madden cover endorsement. Electronic Arts officially announced last night that Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young would grace the cover of the next version of the jinxed popular video game. "Vince was the guy all along," EA's director of marketing Chris Erb told the San Diego Union-Tribune today.

Except that's not exactly the case. Multiple industry sources have told me that Tomlinson, in fact, was asked of his interest, was presented with an offer, and told Electronic Arts he was not interested. Tomlinson's turning down of Electronic Arts, we're told, doesn't have much to do with the highly-publicized curse, which has been attributed to the recent misfortune of Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb and Shaun Alexander. It has more to do with the fact that the people at Electronic Arts know that, for many, their cover is seen as the "Wheaties box endorsement" -- in that athletes are usually so honored they are willing to do it for less than market value. Tomlinson wasn't.

The deal usually pays the cover athlete $100,000 to $200,000 and requires multiple appearances to pump up the game. Since the Madden game sort of sells itself, the athlete on the cover doesn't really matter that much, but expect more NFL stars to turn down the cover in the future, not because of the curse, but because the price is just too low.

A Tomlinson fan named Nick Cupolo actually started Saveltfrommadden.com, hoping that one of his favorite players didn't take the endorsement deal for fear he'd fall victim to the curse. Cupolo wrote on his online petition, "With everyone's help, I plan to forward this petition to Electronic Arts to try and convince them to choose another candidate for the cover of Madden NFL 08." But make no mistake, in the end, it was Tomlinson who made the decision.

[sabotai]

I lost the article but LT turned it down because the money for it isn't good. It's 100-200 K according to Darren Rovell, which I know is a lot to us, but the game sells about 20 million copies at 50 bucks a pop? Don't blame them for not wanting to.

Yeah, I can see people responding with "what a greedy bastard". But there are two points people need to consider. The contract demands multiple public appearance to hype the game. Not sure how many, but I'd image it's at least several, if not a dozen or more. So the first point is that these appearances are taking place (I think) while the player is supposed to be in the height of training camp and preseason (July-August timeframe). That takes away time and attention from the player when he is preparing for the season. And the second point is that if the player is going to make those appearances, he can probably make more money making publicity appearances for something else (or using that time to shoot commercials, etc.).

If you think about it, curse or not, the Madden cover really doesn't sound like a smart business move. At least not for a proven and wildly popular veteran like Tomlinson. Someone like Vince Young, while popular, can still gain hype and more popularity from the exposure of the Madden cover (as long as the curse doesn't take effect).

[Greyroofoo]

I'll bet anything that being on a Madden cover helps your jersey sales.

[sabotai]

I'll bet anything that being on a Madden cover helps your jersey sales.

But how much of that money does the player see as opposed to the NFL, NFLPA and the team (and the company that makes the jersey)?

[SegRat]

Hello Calvin Johnson.

Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions WR, says nerve damage hurting grip - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8608015/calvin-johnson-detroit-lions-wr-says-nerve-damage-hurting-grip)

[BillJasper]

Hello Calvin Johnson.

Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions WR, says nerve damage hurting grip - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8608015/calvin-johnson-detroit-lions-wr-says-nerve-damage-hurting-grip)

Did the Lions know about this before giving him sixty million in guaranteed money? :eek:

[bulletsponge]

Did the Lions know about this before giving him sixty million in guaranteed money? :eek:

yes... but they didnt have the nerve to let him hit FA ;)

[Groundhog]

This explains why Stafford has been throwing all those picks, just trying to rest Calvin's hands.