Only four players will have the elusive 99 rating in EA Sports’ Madden NFL 17.
New England Patriots tight end (and Madden cover boy) Rob Gronkowski, Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly, Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller and Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt represent the quartet of players given the top rating in the game.
Only 4 players received a 99 rating in @EAMaddenNFL 17.
This… is the 99 Club. #Madden17 https://t.co/ORsWGc0VQZ
— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2016
It’s hard to argue with any of the four.
Gronkowski is the most dominant tight end in the game and arguably the greatest tight end in NFL history. He’s coming off a season in which he produced almost 1,200 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.
Kuechly has won a litany of awards, including Defensive Rookie of the Year (2012) and Defensive Player of the Year (2013). A three-time Pro Bowler, Kuechly has made at least 100 tackles in all four of his NFL seasons, while also providing 11 interceptions and seven sacks.
Miller is now the highest paid defensive player in football, largely due to his incredibly dominant end to the 2015 season. After sacking Tom Brady 2.5 times in the AFC Championship Game, Miller produced 2.5 more sacks of Cam Newton—with two forced fumbles—on his way to being named MVP of Super Bowl 50.
Watt has won three Defensive Player of the Year awards in the last four seasons, giving him one of the most dominant stretches of play in league history. He has 74.5 sacks over five years, including two—in 2012 and 2014—with 20.5.
There’s a case to be made for the likes of Antonio Brown, Cam Newton, Tom Brady, Julio Jones, Aaron Donald and Aaron Rodgers as worthy of a top rating. But in terms of the players picked to be 99 overall, EA Sports got all four exactly right.