Seven players started Madden NFL 26 with a 99 overall. By the time the season actually ended, less than half of them were still standing at the top. That’s the entire appeal of the 99 Club in one sentence — it’s not a trophy case, it’s a target on your back, and EA’s ratings team spends the whole year deciding who still deserves to wear it.
Now that the season’s fully wrapped, here’s the complete story: who made it at launch, who got knocked out along the way, who never should’ve been snubbed in the first place, and what it all means heading into the next ratings cycle.
The Original Madden 26 99 Club List
EA kicked off Madden 26’s ratings reveal week with the 99 Club, same as always, and this year’s group broke from tradition in a big way — seven players made the cut instead of the usual five, and for the first time in two years, a defensive player actually got in.
Here’s who started the season at the top:
- Saquon Barkley (RB, Philadelphia Eagles) — the Madden 26 cover athlete, coming off a 2,005-yard rushing season and a Super Bowl win, missing the all-time single-season rushing record by just 101 yards.
- Josh Allen (QB, Buffalo Bills) — reigning NFL MVP, the first reigning MVP to ever start a Madden cycle with a 99 overall since the 99 Club began.
- Lamar Jackson (QB, Baltimore Ravens) — joined Allen as the second quarterback in the club, backed by a blistering 96 speed rating.
- Ja’Marr Chase (WR, Cincinnati Bengals) — the first Bengal ever to hit 99 overall, fresh off a receiving triple crown season.
- Justin Jefferson (WR, Minnesota Vikings) — his third straight season opening at 99, a genuinely remarkable run of consistency.
- Lane Johnson (RT, Philadelphia Eagles) — the only offensive lineman in the club, finally getting recognition after years of being one of the league’s best tackles.
- Myles Garrett (RE, Cleveland Browns) — the lone defensive player, ending a stretch where Madden had all but stopped rating defenders at the very top.
Interestingly, not a single player from the previous year’s 99 Club repeated. Christian McCaffrey, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, and Trent Williams all fell off the list entirely heading into this cycle — proof that the 99 Club has zero loyalty to reputation once your production dips.
The Biggest Madden 26 99 Club Snubs
Every 99 Club reveal creates as much conversation about who didn’t make it as who did, and this year was no exception.
Patrick Mahomes was the name everyone expected to see and didn’t. His exclusion set off immediate fan backlash online, with plenty of “this is disrespectful” energy flooding social media the moment the list dropped. The counterpoint from EA’s side was straightforward, if unsatisfying to Chiefs fans: Mahomes simply didn’t put up the same MVP-tier numbers in the previous season that Allen and Jackson did, and Madden’s ratings have increasingly leaned on recent production over reputation. He still landed comfortably in the 98 range, so this wasn’t a steep fall — it just wasn’t a 99, and that one point mattered enormously to the discourse.
T.J. Watt and Patrick Surtain II were the two most defensible defensive snubs. Surtain was the reigning Defensive Player of the Year at the time ratings dropped, which made his absence from the club sting more than most — it’s hard to argue against the literal award-winner not getting the top mark in his sport’s own video game.
Christian McCaffrey is more of an asterisk than a snub. He’d have been a near-lock if he’d stayed healthy, but a season mostly lost to injury made it impossible for EA to justify keeping him at the top, even with his track record.
How the Madden 26 99 Club Ratings Update Changed Things All Season
This is the part most 99 Club content skips entirely — the list isn’t static. EA updates ratings roughly every couple of weeks based on real performance, and the club is genuinely hard to stay in.
Early-to-mid season: The original seven mostly held, but the door was already creeping open for a few names. Penei Sewell and Jonathan Taylor were both closing in on 99-caliber numbers, while under-the-radar players like Nik Bonitto were climbing fast enough to become names worth watching.
The Justin Jefferson drop: One of the more notable single-update losses of the year came when Jefferson lost a point and fell out of the club entirely, leaving just Chase, Allen, Johnson, and Garrett holding 99 at that stage. It’s a good reminder that even a three-time returning 99 Club member isn’t safe from a rough stretch.
Late-season erosion: By Week 15, the club had thinned out considerably. Barkley slipped slightly to 96 OVR. Jefferson had lost four points total on the year, dropping him to 95 and out of the top tier entirely. Jackson and Derrick Henry both saw their numbers reduced as well, with Jackson eventually settling at 93 OVR. Meanwhile, players like George Kittle and Micah Parsons stayed within striking distance without ever quite breaking through.
Week 18, the final update: By the time the regular season wrapped, the update didn’t add anyone new to the club, even with players like Matthew Stafford and Penei Sewell making strong late pushes. That’s really the whole story of the 99 Club in one data point — it’s designed to be almost impossible to break into once the season is underway, no matter how hot your stretch run is.
End result: Ja’Marr Chase, Josh Allen, Lane Johnson, and Myles Garrett were the closest thing to “survivors” of the original seven, holding their status deep into the season while Barkley, Jefferson, and Jackson all slipped below 99 at various points.
Step-by-Step: How to Track the 99 Club Yourself
- Check the official Madden ratings page rather than relying on secondhand recaps — EA updates it directly and it’s the single source of truth.
- Watch Role Rating-adjacent stats, not just box scores. A quarterback’s overall rating tends to track efficiency and turnover avoidance as much as raw yardage, so a gaudy stat line with turnovers attached won’t always move the needle the way you’d expect.
- Note the update cadence. Ratings typically refresh every one to two weeks during the season — bookmark the cycle so you’re not caught off guard by a sudden drop.
- Pay attention to position scarcity. A defensive player reaching 99 is rarer than an offensive skill player doing it, which is part of why Garrett’s inclusion felt like a bigger deal than another receiver joining the club.
- Cross-reference snubs against major awards. If a reigning Defensive Player of the Year or MVP isn’t in the club, that’s usually the fastest way to spot where the discourse is going to explode.
Madden 26 Rookie Ratings and Superstar X-Factor List
The 99 Club gets the headlines, but the rookie class and X-Factor reveals matter just as much for Franchise and Ultimate Team players building for the long haul.
Top rookie ratings at launch were led by Travis Hunter, the two-way Jaguars standout who debuted with an 84 overall and an eye-catching 86 spectacular catch rating given his unusual offense-and-defense role. Ashton Jeanty followed close behind as the highest-rated rookie running back, opening at 83 overall backed by 91 agility and 91 change of direction after a monster college season. By the time the regular season ended, though, it was Colts tight end Tyler Warren who’d climbed to the top of the rookie class at 84 overall, edging out Jeanty and Panthers receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
Superstar X-Factors are the abilities that let elite players perform beyond their raw stats, and Houston was the standout team at launch with three separate X-Factor additions: Ankle Breaker for Nico Collins, Wrecking Ball for Joe Mixon, and Shutdown for cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. Shutdown in particular is one of the more feared X-Factors in the game, tightening a defender’s coverage and boosting contested-catch interceptions once activated.
Common Mistakes Fans Make Reading the 99 Club
Treating the 99 Club as a permanent honor. It’s the opposite — it’s the single most volatile tier in the entire ratings system. Being in the club at launch guarantees nothing by Week 10.
Assuming a snub means disrespect. EA’s ratings team leans heavily on recent-season production. A legendary track record without a corresponding recent stat line will get you left out, and that’s usually the actual explanation, not bias.
Ignoring position scarcity when comparing snubs. Comparing a wide receiver snub to a defensive lineman snub isn’t apples to apples — defensive 99s are historically far rarer, so the bar to clear is genuinely different by position.
Forgetting the club refreshes with the next game. Every Madden 26 99 Club member starts from a clean slate when Madden 27 ratings drop — last year’s exclusive club membership carries zero weight into the next cycle.
FAQs
Who is in the Madden 26 99 Club? The original seven members were Saquon Barkley, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, Lane Johnson, and Myles Garrett. Jefferson and Jackson later dropped below 99 during the season, while Chase, Allen, Johnson, and Garrett held their status longer.
Why wasn’t Patrick Mahomes in the Madden 26 99 Club? Mahomes’ production the previous season didn’t match the MVP-caliber numbers put up by Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, according to EA’s ratings reasoning. He still rated in the upper-90s, just not high enough for the 99 Club specifically.
How often does the Madden 99 Club change? The underlying ratings update roughly every one to two weeks throughout the NFL season, though the 99 Club itself tends to be far more stable than the rest of the top 100 — new entries are rare once the season is underway.
Who was the highest-rated rookie in Madden 26? Travis Hunter and Ashton Jeanty led the rookie class at launch with 84 and 83 overall respectively. By the end of the regular season, Colts tight end Tyler Warren had climbed to the top of the rookie ratings at 84 overall.
What is a Superstar X-Factor in Madden 26? X-Factor abilities let elite-tier players perform beyond their raw ratings in specific situational triggers, like a cornerback’s coverage tightening after a big play. They’re a step above standard Superstar abilities, which provide steadier, always-on bonuses.
Did any defensive players make the Madden 26 99 Club? Yes — Myles Garrett was the lone defensive player in the club, ending a stretch where Madden had largely stopped placing defenders at the very top of the ratings.
Does the Madden 99 Club carry over to the next game? No. Every new Madden entry starts its own 99 Club from scratch based on the most recent season’s real-world performance, regardless of who held the title the year before.
Final Verdict
The Madden 26 99 Club told a clean story once you follow it from launch to Week 18: reputation gets you a look, but only sustained production keeps you at the top. Chase, Allen, Johnson, and Garrett proved that out by holding their spots deep into the year, while even a three-time returning member like Jefferson found out the hard way that consistency has to be renewed every single season. If there’s one lesson worth carrying into the next ratings cycle, it’s this — don’t get attached to a 99 overall tag in July. Wait for December to see who actually earned it.
