Rob Gronkowski was the latest victim of the ‘Madden’ curse in 2016

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was ruled out for the remainder of the 2016 season with a back injury that will forced him to have surgery.

Gronkowski was on the cover of Madden NFL 17 last year, which is a big deal and an accomplishment for any player. It means you are one of the more visible and recognizable players in the league, and one of the best.

Though, with the Madden glory comes a perceived curse. Many players who have graced the front of the video game since they were first allowed to in 1999 have suffered awful seasons, whether it be just a regression in play or an injury.

Tom Brady was announced as the cover athlete for Madden NFL 18, and will be hoping to avoid his own version of the Madden curse.

Here are some of the infamous cases.

Just a few months after the game was released, he suffered an ankle injury in the playoffs against the Falcons on the first play from scrimmage. This caused him to miss the next two seasons after he developed Avascular Necrosis, which is the same condition that forced Bo Jackson to retire.

Coming off a 1,000-yard season, Levens appeared on Madden 99 and had one of the worst seasons in his career, playing in just five games and rushing for 224 yards.

The previous season, the Vikings had gone 11-5. That fortune was reversed in the year of Culpepper’s Madden fame, with the Vikings finishing 5-11, and Culpepper missing the last five games of the season. After passing for nearly 4,000 yards the year before, Culpepper had just 2,612.

Faulk had rushed for at least 1,300 yards the four seasons before being on Madden 03. During that season, he rushed for 953 yards. That isn’t terrible, but he only started 10 games, and it was definitely a downtick. He was never the same.

Arguably the greatest Madden player ever created, the downside of this was the fractured fibula Vick suffered that season. He ended up missing 11 games as the Falcons fell to a 5-11 season, going 2-10 without Vick.

McNabb and the Eagles were coming off a Super Bowl appearance against the New England Patriots. Unfortunately, that was one of the last times the Eagles really contended with McNabb under center. The following season, the team went 4-5 in his starts, as he missed seven games with a groin injury.

The hype surrounding Alexander going into the 2006 season was huge. He had been improving every season, and had just got done rushing for 1,880 yards and 27 touchdowns. Then, the curse struck. Alexander followed up a spectacular season by playing in just 10 games and rushing for 896 yards.

Young didn’t have a bad season, but he did lose his starting job the next season to Kerry Collins, who went 12-3 in his starts. He would have a resurgence, but an overall short career considering he was drafted third overall back in 2006.

Hillis might have had it the worst of anybody. After a 1,177-yard rushing season, he was put on Madden 12, and we just never really saw him again. He played nine games that season and rushed for 587 yards, and it was all downhill from there.

There have been instances where players have success in the season in which they’re on the cover. Adrian Peterson, who was the face of Madden 25 (which would have been Madden 14) rushed for 1,266 yards and was third in the league with 10 rushing touchdowns.

Eddie George ran for a career-high 1,509 yards and had 16 total touchdowns, leading the Titans to a Super Bowl that season before losing to the St. Louis Rams and Kurt Warner. Odell Beckham Jr. also had a big year after his Madden 16 appearance, with 13 touchdown receptions and 1,450 yards.

Arguably nobody had better seasons than Richard Sherman and Calvin Johnson. Sherman, who was on Madden 15, was a first-team All-Pro, and was the least-targeted corner in the NFL. Johnson, who appeared on Madden 13 set the NFL record for receiving yardage in a season with 1,964.

So while it’s a curse for some, it’s a gift for others. Unfortunately for Gronk, it was the former.