The "curse" supposes that any college football player who wins the Heisman plays on a team that will likely lose its subsequent bowl game.
Although many Heisman winners have not enjoyed success at the professional level, including Matt Leinart, Andre Ware, Jason White, Rashaan Salaam, Eric Crouch, Ty Detmer, Troy Smith and Gino Torretta, proponents of the "curse" rarely cite highly successful players such as Barry Sanders, Charles Woodson, Eddie George, Tim Brown, Bo Jackson, Marcus Allen, Earl Campbell, O. J. Simpson, and Tony Dorsett among the notables.
Although certain Heisman winners have gone on to win Super Bowl championships (such as Roger Staubach and Jim Plunkett), comparatively few have had successful NFL careers.
The only primarily defensive Heisman winner, Charles Woodson, had a successful NFL career and final collegiate bowl game appearance.
Seven Heisman winners have also been named Associated Press NFL MVP: Paul Hornung, Simpson, Campbell, Allen, Sanders, Cam Newton, and Lamar Jackson.