It's a good thing Joe Burrow is not on the Madden 25 cover. Here's why.

CINCINNATI — San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey is the cover athlete for Madden 25, and for Bengals fans, that should be a welcome sight.

The reigning AFC Offensive Player of the Year had a historic season on the way to a Super Bowl runner-up appearance, and is well deserving of the nod.

Fans on the internet had speculated the cover athlete might be Cincinnati's own Joe Burrow after EA released a teaser for its cover reveal last week.

Just 11 seconds long, the teaser featured a mysterious voice saying, "EA Sports, it's in the game." EA's white logo appears on the bottom of the screen before turning orange. Then, the date of the cover reveal — June 11 — appears in white before flashing orange.

Fans online linked that mysterious voice to Burrow, a known gamer and one of the league's most popular players.

Turns out that orange was more of a red, and it was McCaffrey, not Burrow.

And that's a good thing. Here's why: The Madden curse.

While EA denies any so-called curse, the history books tell us a decent amount of cover stars dating back to 2000 have dealt with major injuries or a decline in production after becoming the face of the game. The most obvious of these cases was one day after QB Michael Vick was announced as the cover athlete, he broke his leg, and his subsequent off-field issues prevented him from being a major contributor in the NFL after an incredibly promising start to his career.

And while the most recent collection of cover stars (Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen) haven't been hit by the curse, it's the odds in the video game's now 30+-year history that Burrow doesn't need to flirt with.

Joey B has dealt with enough in his career (ACL tear, strained calf, appendicitis, torn ligament in his wrist). Bengals fans should want nothing more than a healthy full year for Burrow to get the team back to the Super Bowl.