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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/Brix001 on 2025-02-19 15:55:28+00:00.

In 1958, the defending NFL champion Lions traded star quarterback Bobby Layne to the Steelers. In response, Layne claimed the Lions wouldn’t win anything for 50 years.

In the 50 years that followed the Layne trade, the Steelers became one of the most successful franchises in the NFL winning 6 Super Bowls. On the other hand, the Lions remained in the NFL’s basement, winning only a single playoff game in that timespan (1991), and having countless losing seasons. In 2008, the supposed final year of the curse, the Steelers won their 6th Super Bowl, while the Lions went winless that year. Despite the curse supposedly ending after that year, and the Lions making occasional playoff appearances, their losing ways continued.

In 2022, with the Lions starting their season 1-6, Peyton Manning performed a ritual with a whiskey-filled bathtub in Ford Field to lift the curse. Immediately after this, the Lions won 8 of their last 10 games to end the season 9-8. The following season, the Lions won their first playoff game since 1991 and made it all the way to the NFC Championship, leading many to believe the curse was finally broken.