Let's hope Josh Allen doesn't follow Lamar Jackson's mild Madden curse

Baltimore Ravens fans will be the first to tell Bills Mafia that the Madden cover isn't all that it's cracked up to be.

On Wednesday, it was announced that Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen will grace the cover of Madden '24. The sixth-year pro and two-time Pro Bowler called it a "dream come true" via social media.

For years now, the "Madden Curse" has been more of an issue than not, regardless of whether or not fans choose to believe in it. The fact of the matter is, many players who grace the cover of the EA Sports video game will go on to suffer injury, with a good amount of them being serious.

When Lamar Jackson was given the cover of Madden '21, he would go on to have a pair of injury-ridden seasons. Those injuries would come at the worst time, too, toward the end of the season.

Hopefully, Josh Allen doesn't follow in Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson's footsteps

During the 2021 season, Jackson suffered an ankle sprain in Week 14 and would go on to miss the rest of the season. Baltimore would end the season 8-9, missing the playoffs. Just last year, of course, Jackson endured a PCL sprain which caused him to miss the final six games of the season, including the playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Last season, Allen dealt with an elbow injury for a few games. The recovery could have been similar to an MLB player having to undergo Tommy John surgery, but Allen avoided the catastrophic end result, fortunately.

The history of the Madden curse is a lengthy one, as it all began back in 1999 when Garrison Hearst graced the cover and wound up suffering a nasty ankle injury during the playoffs.

Other players who would go on to miss time (some more than others) the year after earning the cover: Barry Sanders (retired), Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk, Michael Vick, Ray Lewis, Donovan McNabb, Shaun Alexander, Vince Young, Troy Polamalu, Peyton Hillis, Adrian Peterson, Richard Sherman, Rob Gronkowski, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson.