It's hard enough entering the '99 Club' -- a rare group of Madden NFL players with high enough in-game attributes to earn a perfect 99 rating from EA Sports.
So congrats to the seven perfectly-rated players in the upcoming Madden NFL 19: Tom Brady, Aaron Donald, Aaron Rodgers, Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski, Von Miller, and Luke Kuechly. It's a rare feat.
That being said, what if there was a higher in-game honor than that vaunted 99 overall rating? What would the 99 Club of Madden's 99 Club look like?
To find out, we stacked every 99-rated player in the video-game franchise's storied history -- all 106 of them -- up against one another. And we picked out the 19 that were so good you should consider them in-game glitches.
19. FB Mike Alstott (Madden 2000)
It's third-and-one. Out comes the goal-line formation. It's a Fullback Dive to Alstott. Easy money.
18. RB Adrian Peterson (Madden 15)
Nothing made a 13-year-old kid discard their headset faster than seven Adrian Peterson truck sticks on one play.
17. FS Ed Reed (Madden 07, 08, 10)
The widest QB vision cone still wouldn't trick Ed Reed. The best part? The game adapted his real-life pick-six skills perfectly.
16. SS Troy Polamalu (Madden 10, 12)
He earned one half of Madden's cover in 2010 and made every ballcarrier pay for it. A Polumalu hit stick was a surefire fumbler-causer.
15. WR Terrell Owens (Madden 04)
He's on the Hall of Fame Edition cover this year. He's willing to go over the middle. The next cornerback in Madden history who could stop a T.O. dig route will be the first.
14. QB Aaron Rodgers (Madden 13, 15, 19)
Throw power, throw accuracy, throw on the run ... all elite. It's like the people at EA Sports understand Aaron Rodgers cannot be stopped, or something.
13. WR Calvin Johnson (Madden 15)
That year, EA Sports gave Megatron between a 95 and 99 rating in: speed, catch, jumping, spectacular catch, and catch in traffic. Pretty accurate.
12. RB Chris Johnson (Madden 11)
Step One: Wait for blockers. Step Two: Press turbo like your life depended on it. Step Three: Score. That's how unfair CJ2K was in Madden.
9-T: TEs Tony Gonzalez, Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Gates
How do you choose between three dominant tight ends? You don't. It's a three-way tie. Just mash the X button and these three would always come down with it on a post over the middle.
8. QB Tom Brady (Madden 09, 12, 18, 19)
Most 41-year-old NFL players don't get perfect Madden ratings. Tom Brady is not most 41-year-old NFL players. Also: Please don't forget he destroyed the Madden Curse forever.
7. MLB Ray Lewis (Madden 02, 03, 04, 05, 06)
The "Hit Stick" was invented to use players like Lewis. Ball carriers couldn't escape him. He never dropped an interception like other defenders. What a streak of dominance for the most dominant linebacker of Madden's day.
6. QB Peyton Manning (Madden 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11)
EA Sports went too far when they made Manning. He'd audible at the line forever. He'd drop back and never stop marching in place as he scanned the field. And then he'd pick your defense apart.
5. RB LaDainian Tomlinson (Madden 08, 09)
Run the RB Option Pass. Or a swing pass out of the backfield. Or bring in Lorenzo Neal and let him plow the way for L.T. Madden players could do no wrong with No. 21.
4. RB Barry Sanders (Madden 99, 2000)
A moment of silence for all the cracked T.V. screens Sanders forced in the early days of 'Madden.' His in-game cutting and juking ability are still unrivaled.
3. WR Randy Moss (Madden 06, 09)
It's strange Moss' first perfect rating came during his Oakland days, not the Minnesota ones. It's not as strange Moss earned another when he broke the single-season touchdown receptions record. Remember how fun it was to just send this guy deep play after play?
2. WR Jerry Rice (Madden 99)
Fun fact: Nintendo 64 actually gave Rice a 189 overall rating on their '99 release. It only seems a little high compared to what the G.O.A.T. could actually do in real life. Madden's Rice-Steve Young pairing might be it's most unstoppable duo ever.
1. QB Michael Vick
What? No. Impossible.
It's true. Michael Vick received no 99 overall ratings from EA Sports. And yet ... he's hands-down the greatest Madden player of all time. His 2004 avatar was invincible. He had the arm strength to hit Peerless Price on deep route after deep route or Brian Finneran over the middle (just flip the play because Vick's a lefty). He had the speed and acceleration to roll around the field with immunity.
Vick was to Madden as Bo Jackson was to Tecmo Bowl. He was a cheat code in a football jersey.
