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Tomlinson Turned Down "Madden '08" Cover

Following up on Monday’s report that Titans QB Vince Young will grace the cover of Madden ’08, it seems that reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers actually got first dibs: Multiple industry sources have told me that Tomlinson, in fact, was asked of his interest, was presented with an offer, and […]

Ladainiantomlinson
Following up on Monday's report that Titans QB Vince Young will grace the cover of Madden '08, it seems that reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers actually got first dibs:

Multiple industry sources have told me that Tomlinson, in fact, was asked of his interest, was presented with an offer, and told Electronic
Arts he was not interested. Tomlinson's turning down of Electronic
Arts, we're told, doesn't have much to do with the highly-publicized curse, which has been attributed to the recent misfortune of Michael
Vick, Donovan McNabb and Shaun Alexander.

...

The deal usually pays the cover athlete $100,000 to $200,000 and requires multiple appearances to pump up the game. Since the Madden game sort of sells itself, the athlete on the cover doesn't really matter that much, but expect more NFL stars to turn down the cover in the future, not because of the curse, but because the price is just too low.

So, there you have it. No curse, just coin. Makes you long for the days when football players made really dignified product endorsements.

Tomlinson Turns Down Madden [CNBC]