New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady faces his toughest test this season, which makes a 28-3 Super Bowl deficit look like a picnic.

We’re not talking about Brady turning 40 years old on Aug. 3. Even worse: He gets to fight against the “Madden” curse this year.

EA Sports announced Friday that Brady is the cover subject for its “Madden NFL 18” video game (which will have a standard edition and, in a nod to Brady, a “G.O.A.T Edition” with extra features).

Being on the cover of “Madden” should be an nice compliment, but it has become a running joke because of the maladies that have come upon the cover subjects through the years.

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Brady knows what he’s getting into.

“The Madden NFL 18 cover is a great honor for me,” Brady said in an EA Sports press release. “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!!!”

Brady being Brady, he had some fun with the whole thing on social media.

Even if you’re not superstitious, the history of the “Madden” curse is pretty remarkable.

Players like Daunte Culpepper, Mike Vick and Shaun Alexander appeared on the cover and then suffered significant injuries that season. Others have had their play mysteriously fall off after being on the video game cover. The most notable example of that is Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis.

Patriots fans know all about the “Madden” curse. Last year, Rob Gronkowski was on the cover. Gronkowski played in just eight games due to injuries, catching only 25 passes all season. There’s an unusually high percentage of cover subjects who have had something go wrong immediately after being on the cover.

Now, it’s Brady’s turn to deal with the jinx.

There should already be a little concern about Brady going into this season because the history of 40-year-old quarterbacks in the NFL is not good (though, if you watched Super Bowl LI, he didn’t seem like a player anywhere near a decline).

This is a different challenge for Brady, one that has struck down many other great players through the years. Now we know the real reason the Patriots didn’t trade backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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