EA Sports recently confirmed on ESPN Sportscenter that the "Madden NFL 16" will be released on Aug. 25 and New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. will be the game's cover athlete. After the news broke out many sports expert asked the question; will Beckham Jr. fall to the "Madden Curse" as well?

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 It is a widely accepted superstitious belief in the National Football League that any athlete who will appear in the cover of "Madden NFL" will experience career difficulty afterwards. In most cases, "Madden NFL" cover players suffer from performance deterioration but in some case players succumb to season-ending injury.

The curse started with San Francisco 49ers running Garrison Hearts who suffered an ankle injury after appearing in the cover of "Madden NFL" in 1999. The latest to fall into this curse was Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman who sustained an elbow injury during the NFC championship match against the Green Bay Packers after appearing on the cover of "Madden NFL 15."

According to Digital Trends, 17 of the last 18 "Madden NFL" cover athletes has suffered the so-called "Madden Curse."

Beckham Jr. was chosen as the cover athlete based on fan votes. Among the NFL superstars considered for the cover were New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, Pittsburg Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown and Arizona Cardinal cornerback Patrick Peterson, according to IGN.

 EA Sports has completely dismissed "Madden Curse" on several occasions. EA Sports attributed the athlete's deterioration as a natural repercussion after a season of unparalleled performance.

"Madden NFL 16" will be released on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. In order to further promote the game, EA announced that those who will pre-order the game will receive in-game perks and bonuses. Some of this bonuses includes Elite players that can be used on the player's Ultimate team, according to Digital Times.

Tagsnfl 16, madden nfl, madden curse, Odell Beckham Jr., madden nfl cover curse