Tom Brady to grace cover of ‘Madden NFL 18,’ says curse ‘doesn’t stand a chance’

By Steven Petite Published May 12, 2017

Electronic Arts revealed that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is the cover athlete for Madden NFL 18, which launches on August 25. Brady isn’t holding a football on the cover. Our guess is that EA couldn’t find one that was deflated to his ideal specifications during the shoot.

Jokes aside, the five-time Super Bowl champ has accomplished virtually every meaningful feat in the NFL, but this is the first time he will appear on the Madden cover. If you were to bet on anyone to avoid the Madden curse (players who suffer subpar or injury-plagued seasons after adorning the cover), it would be Brady.

Recommended Videos

After all, Brady led the Patriots to the most improbable of comebacks over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI earlier this year, and that was without the help of his best offensive weapon, tight end Rob Gronkowski, who was sidelined for much of the season after suffering several injuries. Oh, by the way, Gronkowski was on the cover of Madden NFL 17 and became the latest victim of the curse.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Brady’s appearance marks the first time a pair of current teammates have appeared on back-to-back Madden covers. Stars who played for the same franchise have been the cover athletes in consecutive years, though. Now-retired Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson graced the cover of Madden NFL 13, and all-time-great running back Barry Sanders of the Lions appeared on the cover of Madden NFL 25 the following year.

The Madden NFL 18 cover is a great honor for me,” Brady said in a statement. “Especially since I have been playing the game since growing up next to EA headquarters in the Bay Area. I’m not one to believe in curses, so I’m ready to take the challenge head-on like always! It doesn’t stand a chance!!!”

Along with the reveal, EA teased that more information about the game, including the arrival of a new game mode, will be shown at its EA Play event June 10.

Pre-ordering the standard edition of Madden NFL 18 will get you an elite player of your choosing for use in the Ultimate Team game mode, and five squad packs. There’s also the GOAT (greatest of all time) edition of the game, which, in addition to the elite player and squad packs, will let you choose one of five designated GOAT players. Neither the elite or GOAT players have been revealed at this time, but we imagine Brady is one of the GOAT options.

Additionally, GOAT edition users will gain access to the game three days early on August 22. EA Access subscribers can play for up to 10 hours before launch starting August 17.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…

Gaming

PlayStation had a better 2024 than it should have. Now it needs to focus

Astro Bot climbs on a DualSense controller.

This time last year, PlayStation had given us a roadmap for the brand's direction moving forward. It made grand commitments to live-service titles, put heavy investments in a mobile initiative, and continued to launch new hardware. If one were to judge PlayStation's 2024 on the rubric it set for itself, it would have been a failure. But that doesn't tell the full story.

PlayStation's 2024 felt like a restructuring phase. On the software side, we saw PlayStation embracing young players again, a decision that netted it a big Game of the Year win. Behind the games, we saw even bigger changes, specifically with the appointment of two new co-CEOs, Herman Hulst and Hideaki Nishino, that may have radical implications for the brand going forward. All of this sets the stage for a needed pivot for a brand that flirted with disaster in 2024. The only problem? That new vision hasn't been communicated yet, and fans' good will may be in short supply after a year of ups and downs.
Shifting strategy
Sony had a lot of pots on the stove this year, which made it a rollercoaster ride for fans. If there was one message PlayStation wanted to communicate as clearly as possible in 2023, it was the commitment to finding a live service hit. At the time, 12 such titles were reportedly in development and scheduled to be released between 2024 and 2026. So far, that effort has struggled to get off the starting blocks. Naughty Dog made the wise decision to cancel its Last of Us Online project to focus on single-player IPs such as the upcoming Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, but the real casualty was Concord.

Gaming

At the end of 2024, Xbox finds itself as a crossroads

The Mental Wellness Awareness Xbox design.

At the end of 2024, Xbox finds itself at a crossroads that many fans wouldn’t have anticipated at the start of the year.

Finally bearing the fruits of its pricey Activision Blizzard acqusition, Xbox has had one of its most consistent years in terms of game output. Game Pass received a healthy number of day-one games throughout the year, and Microsoft delivered a new first-party title to the service every month between September and December.

Gaming

Wordle Today: Wordle answer and hints for December 4

Someone playing Wordle on a smartphone.

We have the solution to Wordle on July 16, as well as some helpful hints to help you figure out the answer yourself, right here. We've placed the answer at the bottom of the page, so we don't ruin the surprise before you've had a chance to work through the clues. So let's dive in, starting with a reminder of yesterday's answer.
Yesterday's Wordle answer
Let's start by first reminding ourselves of yesterday's Wordle answer for those new to the game or who don't play it daily, which was "SAUNA." So we can say that the Wordle answer today definitely isn't that. Now, with that in mind, perhaps take another stab at it using one of these Wordle starting words and circle back if you have no luck.
Hints for today's Wordle
Still can't figure it out? We have today's Wordle answer right here, below. But first, one more thing: Let's take a look at three hints that could help you find the solution, without giving it away, so there's no need to feel guilty about keeping your streak alive -- you put in some work, after all! Or just keep scrolling for the answer.

Today’s Wordle includes the letter G.
Today’s Wordle uses three vowels.
Today's Wordle is a word for a bird of prey.

nproxy.org