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

By Steven Petite 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.

Related 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.

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.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Gaming

‘Madden NFL 19’ kicks off early on August 10 for PS4 and Xbox One

madden nfl 19 release date

EA Sports announced that Madden NFL 19 launches August 10 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. If that sounds a little early for Madden, you're right. Madden typically arrives near the end of August, just prior to the start of the NFL regular season in early September.

Fresh off of his induction into the NFL Hall of Fame, former wide receiver Terrell Owens will grace the cover of the "Hall of Fame Edition." The special edition costs $80, grants players three-day early access, and includes a slew of in-game goodies such as 12 gold team fantasy packs for Ultimate Team and an elite legends player.

Gaming

Spoiler alert: The Patriots win. ‘Madden NFL 18’ already called Super Bowl 52

madden nfl 18 super bowl simulation tom brady

The New England Patriots will defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 52, according to EA Sport's official simulation. The Madden NFL 18 simulation predicted a closely contested matchup, with the Patriots taking home the Lombardi trophy following a 24-20 victory.

The Eagles struck first on a touchdown scored by running back Jay Ajayi. While the Patriots moved the ball down the field with relative ease in the first quarter, the Eagles defense only gave up a field goal. Philadephia notched a field goal of its own as the first quarter wound down.

Gaming

Here’s how to make a great card deck in ‘Madden NFL 18’ Ultimate Team mode

madden nfl 18 review 14064

Though many Madden fans focus primarily on Franchise mode, there's another significant and fun playing option in Madden NFL 18 — the card-based mode, called Madden Ultimate Team (MUT). First added in Madden NFL 10, the core premise of Madden Ultimate Team is simple: Collect player cards to fill out, and create a fantasy roster that can crush any other.

Ultimate Team has evolved in notable and exciting ways over the years, and you can find an enormous amount of depth in assembling and tweaking a juggernaut squad. It's more complicated than the rest of Madden, and can be a bit daunting for new players. To that end, we've put together an explainer that breaks down each component of this year's Ultimate Team mode. While seasoned veterans may know much of this, Ultimate Team works a little differently in Madden NFL 18, so you may still find valuable information here as you embark on your quest.
Overall levels
For starters, Madden NFL 18 Ultimate Team features a team-wide leveling system. As you progress through solo challenges and head-to-head matches, each player will gain MUT experience points that increase your rank. You're always gaining experience in Ultimate Team, no matter what action you take. You earn rewards every time you level up. Often they're MUT coins, but you'll occasionally receive cards and packs, which can further improve your squad.
Overall ratings
EA Sports modified the way overall team ratings are calculated in Madden NFL 18, widening the gap between ratings. More so this year than in years past, the difference in performance between a team with a 70 rating and another rated 71 is significant. Most players, even superstar-caliber players, have relatively low ratings to start out. Our Marshawn Lynch card, for example, had a 58 overall rating. That's extremely low for a player of that caliber. The change puts more emphasis on overall ratings. While your initial squad will feature players with ratings around 60, once you start to replace players with others with slightly better ratings of 61 or 61, your team will noticeably improve.
Coins, points, tickets, contracts, and items