During last week’s Madden 09 launch party, past Madden cover boys shed their wheelchairs and braved steps to get up in front of the crowd and share their wildest Madden betting stories. Included on the panel were Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk, Shaun Alexander, Vince Young and Ray Lewis. They all joked around about their stories, but maybe that’s because they never made the ultimate bet—who could get screwed most by the Madden Cover Jinx. You know, Michael Vick could really use that money right now.

Daunte Culpepper, Madden 2002’s cover star while with the Vikings, “won and lost a few mortgage payments on a game of Madden”. Exorbitant, yeah, but some of the other guys were a little more creative. Marshall Faulk (Madden 03) had to let somebody else drive his Bentley for a month.

Yeah, but it was his chauffeur, so win-win, you know?

And Ray Lewis (Madden 05) used to play Madden for on-demand push-ups, which he’d then hold in reserve, and cash in while he and his teammates were out at restaurants…

Which, when you think about it, would be the most awesome super-power behind super-strength and flying, although you’d probably have to be feared like Ray Lewis to completely pull it off. Something tells us we wouldn’t be able to make anyone do their push-ups in a grimy train station bathroom, but Ray Lewis… that dude’ll shank you. Allegedly.

So How Much Do NFL Players Bet On Games Of Madden? [Kotaku]
Image [Kotaku]