George Kittle reacts to teammate Christian McCaffrey being named Madden 25 Cover Athlete
San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle talks about teammate Christian McCaffrey becoming the Madden 25 Cover Athlete.
Sports Seriously
EA Sports is revealing player ratings for Madden 25 this week. Who will join the vaunted 99 Club?
It’s not easy to crack into the elite group at the top of the popular NFL video game. There are only a handful of players each season who get to lay claim to the top Madden rating.
On Friday, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes joined teammate Travis Kelce in receiving a 99 rating in the upcoming game. Wednesday saw San Francisco 49ers tackle Trent Williams join Niners teammate and Madden 25 cover athlete Christian McCaffrey as well as Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill on the short list.
This is a real achievement, as the players themselves pay close attention to how they’re ranked in the influential game series.
So what’s all the fuss about? What’s the history behind the Madden 99 Club? Here’s a quick history lesson, plus a look at this year’s members and more info on the coming release of Madden 25:
The 99 Club is the group of players who have a 99 overall rating in the Madden video game series. Players might have 99 ratings in individual skills but not reach 99 Club status: For instance, Los Angeles Ram receiver Cooper Kupp has a 99 in stamina, but his overall rating is 88.
EA Sports does not issue 100 ratings for the Madden games, but it used to. In Madden 99 and Madden 2000 (the games released in 1998 and ’99), players could be awarded 100 ratings. From then on, 99 was the highest overall rating a player could achieve, though there were some players who still received 100 ratings in certain categories (Devin Hester got a 100 speed rating in Madden 08).
According to MaddenRatings.com, here are the immortal members of the Madden 100 Club:
At the release of Madden 24 on August 18, 2023, there were five players in the 99 Club:
Through Wednesday, there were three players with overall ratings of 99. More could be unveiled throughout the week. So far, the list is as follows:
This is the first season Tyreek Hill will debut with a 99 overall rating in Madden. Hill led the NFL with 1,799 receiving yards and tied for the lead with 13 receiving touchdowns in 2023. Always among the fastest players in football, he has made the Pro Bowl in all eight of his NFL seasons and is a five-time All-Pro. He’s the first Miami Dolphins player to ever reach the 99 Club.
As the Madden 25 cover athlete, it makes sense that Christian McCaffrey would receive a 99 overall rating. The San Francisco 49ers star is the reigning Offensive Player of the Year after leading the league with 1,459 rushing yards and 2,023 yards from scrimmage. He also tied the Miami Dolphins’ Raheem Mostert with 21 total touchdowns. This is McCaffrey’s second stint in the 99 Club after first earning the honor in Madden 21.
The defending NFC champion 49ers have two players in the 99 Club. Trent Williams has been one of the best offensive linemen since entering the NFL in 2010, making 11 straight Pro Bowls and three straight All-Pro teams. He previously reached a 99 rating in Madden 23.
Taylor Swift’s boyfriend and co-host of the New Heights podcast is the first tight end to ever achieve 99 Club status five times, starting in 2019. It’s well deserved: Travis Kelce is approaching NFL tight end records with his career receiving yards (11,328) and receptions (907), and he’s got 74 career touchdowns as Patrick Mahomes’ favorite target. The three-time Super Bowl winner had a down year by his standards in 2023 with 984 yards and five TDs, but he still made his ninth straight Pro Bowl.
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL. The two-time league MVP and three-time Super Bowl MVP is in the 99 Club for the fourth time in five years. Like Kelce, Mahomes had a down statistical year in 2023 with “just” 4,183 yards and 27 touchdowns, but that doesn’t seem to matter when the playoffs come around and he becomes the one player the other team never wants to see.
The Madden 25 worldwide release is Friday, August 16. Those who preorder the Deluxe Edition or who ordered the MVP Bundle will have access Tuesday, August 13.
Madden 25 will be available on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC. All features of Madden 25 will be available on only the PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
The standard edition of Madden 25 will cost $69.99. The Deluxe Edition, which includes early access and other perks, costs $99.99. The MVP Bundle, which includes the Deluxe Edition of College Football 25, costs $149.99.
