John Madden -- THE MADDEN CURSE HAS BEEN BROKEN!!!

After countless broken bones ... horrible seasons ... and penis pics gone public (we're lookin' at you Brett Favre) ... the Madden Curse has finally been LIFTED ... at least according to John Madden.

The curse is legendary ... with more than a dozen NFL stars experiencing terrible seasons after appearing on the cover of the Madden football video game series ... just ask Ray Lewis, Eddie George, Shaun Alexander, Donovan McNabb and Garrison Hearst.

But this weekend outside Craig's in L.A., Madden explained how Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson finally broke the most famous jinx in pro sports.

Madden -- who was having dinner with his former NFL announcer colleague Al Michaels -- also told us about how his new $750k bus costs only HALF as much as a vehicle owned by a famously flashy NFL owner.