Lamar Jackson to be on cover of Madden 2021, plans to follow Mahomes to Super Bowl win

Reigning NFL MVP, Lamar Jackson, will officially be the cover athlete for NFL Madden 21. The Baltimore Ravens quarterback continues to build upon his record-breaking 2019 season and will now headline NFL's franchise game for 2020. Even before EA Sports could make the official announcement for Madden 21, Lamar Jackson himself leaked the big news in a short video uploaded on Ravens' social media handles.

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Lamar Jackson Madden cover: Jackson squashed fears of Madden Curse

"It's always been a dream of mine since I was a kid since I first started playing Madden," Lamar Jackson said in the video. "It's dope. For me to be on the cover, it's a dream come true. That's what the cover is for, the kids around here, where I'm from, stuff like that. It's pretty cool."

Lamar Jackson is following the path of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes won the NFL MVP and went on to feature as the cover guy for Madden 2020. Jackson will be hoping he enjoys the same fortune as the Chiefs star, who then went on to lift the Super Bowl trophy and also win the Super Bowl MVP.

Squashing fears of a Madden curse, Jackson added, "I'm not worried about a curse. Patrick Mahomes was on the front and he also won an MVP, so I hope that's the curse. I'd love to follow Mahomes' path of MVP, then the Super Bowl. That'd be a great path to follow right now." 

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What is Madden Curse? Lamar Jackson Madden cover

The Madden Curse is also known as the Madden Cover jinx. According to the curse, fans believe that the season a player appears on the cover of NFL Madden, that player will be cursed with either an injury or poor performance. However, as mentioned above, Patrick Mahomes came out on top despite picking up an injury early in the 2019 season. The 24-year-old was key for the Chiefs, who ended their 50-year wait for a Super Bowl win.

Back in 2017, even Tom Brady laughed at the suggestions that featuring as the cover guy on a video game would ruin his season. Brady was one the cover of Madden 18 but went on to win the Super Bowl in 2019. 

What is Madden Curse? Lamar Jackson to ride past the video game curse?

Lamar Jackson could be the best candidate to prove the curse is nothing but a myth among fans. The cover athlete for Madden 21 is coming off a stellar 2019 season. He was unanimously voted as the MVP and thereby became only the second player to achieve the feat after Tom Brady. He was also the youngest quarterback in NFL history to start a Pro Bowl game. 

Jackson completed 1,206 yards to set the league record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single season and also registered 36 touchdowns in the regular season. While the Ravens' quest for the Super Bowl came up short last season, Jackson would be hoping to have a Super Bowl title under his belt by the end of the 2020 season.

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Lamar Jackson Madden cover: Madden cover athletes

The Madden cover athletes for the previous five editions were Patrick Mahomes (2020), Antonio Brown (2019), Tom Brady (2018), Rob Gronkowski (2017) and Odell Beckham Jr. (2016).

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