Lamar Jackson not worried about the 'Madden' curse

"It's always been a dream of mine since I was a little kid, since I first started playing Madden," Jackson said. "It's dope. I have every Madden. To me to be on the front of it, it's a dream come true." 

While it's an honor to be named as one of the defining faces of the NFL, many would argue it comes at a steep price: the infamous Madden Curse, which is believed to doom the player on the "Madden" cover to a terrible season. Is Jackson concerned about becoming the Curse's latest victim? Not at all.

"Patrick Mahomes is on the front and he won [Super Bowl] MVP," Jackson said. "I want that curse. I hope that's a curse."

Honestly, it's tough to argue with Jackson's reasoning at this point, as the "Madden" curse has lost a lot of its sting in recent years. While the curse used to claim even the mightiest of stars, including Marshall Faulk, Michael Vick and Shaun Alexander, its potency has noticeably diminished as of late. In fact, the last two players to grace the cover, Tom Brady and Mahomes, both made it to the Super Bowl during their cover seasons. Some have gone as far as claiming that Mahomes' comeback win against the 49ers ended the curse for good.

If Jackson really wants to prove that the curse is broken, he will need to bring some of his regular-season success to the postseason. Despite making the playoffs in both of his first two seasons, he has yet to win a game in January. Just a few months ago, Jackson barely completed 50 percent of his passes while throwing two interceptions during the Ravens' shocking divisional-round loss to the sixth-seeded Titans.

Another way Jackson may be trying to avoid the curse is by adding another weapon to the high-powered Ravens offense. Earlier this week, Jackson said he would be "happy" if the Ravens signed Antonio Brown. With or without Brown, it'll be fascinating to see if Jackson can prove once and for all that the "Madden" curse has gone the way of the "Curse of the Bambino" and the "Curse of the Billy Goat."

EA Sports has not yet announced when "Madden 21" will be released, but based on previous years, fans can likely expect the game to be out sometime in August, assuming that the quarantine does not affect its release.