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Fantasy Index Cover Jinx lives

Posted Sep. 07 at 11:06 PM

“The Madden Curse” has nothing on Fantasy Football Index.

For the fourth time in the last five years, the player featured on the cover of our magazine is going to ruin a lot of fantasy leaguers’ seasons. Tom Brady was probably a top-10 pick in the vast majority of leagues, and it appears he’s gone for the year.

Who’d a thunk it? Brady doesn’t run and is rarely sacked, which had contributed to him starting 111 straight games since he replaced Drew Bledsoe back in 2001. Only Brett Favre and Peyton Manning have started more consecutive games.

But he’s just the latest in a long line of players who’ve gone on to have poor seasons after being featured on the cover of our magazine. It’s a “curse” that dates back to 1991, the year that Randall Cunningham went down in eerily similar fashion to Brady – in the season opener, with a player with the initials B.P. (Bryce Paup, rather than Bernard Pollard) diving into his knee.

A look at the last 10 covers of Fantasy Football Index:

YEAR:    PLAYER   RESULT
1999:    Randy Moss   Drops from 17 to 12 TDs.
2000:    Kurt Warner   Misses 5 games; drops from 41 to 21 TDs.
2001:    Daunte Culpepper   Misses 5 games; drops from 33 to 14 TDPs.
2002:    Terrell Owens   No complaints: 100 recs, 14 TDs.
2003:    Ricky Williams   Drops from 17 to 10 TDs.
2004:    Priest Holmes   Missed 8 games with hip injury.
2005:    Tatum Bell   Lost starting job to Mike Anderson.
2006:    Shaun Alexander   Misses 6 games; drops from 28 to 7 TDs.
2007:    LaDainian Tomlinson   drops from 31 to 18 TDs.
2008:    Tom Brady   Injures knee in first game.


Readers' Comments

Posted by Robert Heater | Sep. 07 at 11:38 PM

Please refrain from putting Adrian Peterson on the cover next year.

Posted by JEFF WEILER | Sep. 08 at 03:56 AM

Please put Matt Millen on your cover next year...

Posted by JOHN COLLINS | Sep. 08 at 04:00 AM

Please put Chad Ocho Cinco on your cover

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