Beckham doesn’t believe in Madden curse

Talking about mythical crime lord Keyser Soze in the movie “The Usual Suspects,” Kevin Spacey’s character, Verbal Kint, says, “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didn’t exist.”

Named the cover athlete for the upcoming “Madden 16” video game, New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. said he doesn’t believe the “Madden Curse” exists.

“I don’t really believe in curses much,” he told the New York Daily News. “A curse is something somebody wishes upon you.”

Beckham, who edged Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski for the cover in a vote conducted by EA Sports, said the honor is “mind-blowing.”

So is the number of athletes — 17 of the last 18 — who have struggled or suffered injuries in the season following their cover debut.

After being named the first-ever cover athlete for Madden, former San Francisco 49ers running back Garrison Hearst suffered a horrific broken ankle in a playoff game and missed the next two seasons.

The curse worked quickly on Michael Vick as the quarterback suffered a badly broken leg in a preseason game one day after Madden 2004 was released.

As Spacey said in “The Usual Suspects,” “And like that. Poof. He’s gone.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow him on Twitter: @tdewey33.