With Pro Bowl appearances, All-Pro selections and a division title already under his belt, Justin Jefferson has already accomplished a lot with the Minnesota Vikings.
But entering his fourth season, Jefferson is still seeking one goal that has eluded him – entering “The Madden 99 Club.”
This club is reserved for some of the league’s elite players as it is the highest ranking possible in the NFL’s annual video game. While rankings are adjusted throughout the season, entering The 99 Club at the game’s launch date is a major accolade that players do not take lightly.
Jefferson has risen to stardom over his first three years but his Madden rating hasn’t had the same trajectory. After his breakout rookie season, Jefferson admitted he was “100 percent” frustrated with his rating when he saw he wasn’t even in the top 10 receivers at the launch of Madden NFL 2022.
Going to use those @EAMaddenNFL ratings as motivation
đź“ş: https://t.co/RNlOAYwSSU pic.twitter.com/e0rsZKUnxY
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) July 30, 2021
“I don’t even want to talk about that,” Jefferson told Gabe Henderson of Vikings.com. “…I play Madden. I’m a big gamer, so I’m all into that. After I saw the ratings and…not being in the top 10 in any of the rankings, that was crazy to me. But that’s just motivation.”
Like many players, Jefferson has also lobbied for a higher rating on social media and for rating adjustors who visit practice and games to get a more accurate rating in the game, but he has yet to earn a 99 overall rating – along with the custom made gold cleats that come with them.
“I think it was after my rookie year I told them my speed wasn’t good enough or my catching but it’s been going up since then,” Jefferson said in a June 2022 interview with Uproxx. “I think it would be awesome to get up to a 99 someday. I need those gold cleats!”
Jefferson entered last season’s game with a 93 overall rating but was sixth among all receivers and the second-highest ranking on the Vikings behind Dalvin Cook (94).
Jefferson’s rating improved to 96 by the end of the season but it still trailed Buffalo’s Stefon Diggs (97), Los Angeles’s Cooper Kupp, Miami’s Tyreek Hill (98) and Las Vegas’s Davante Adams (98) as the top receivers in the game.
Going off production, Jefferson has a solid argument to be the game’s top-ranked receiver going into this year’s game. He led the league with 128 catches and 1,809 receiving yards last season and was the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year.
According to Pro Football Focus, Jefferson was also second among wide receivers (min. 37 targets) with 2.55 yards per route run and third in overall PFF grade behind Hill and Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Jefferson also outproduced Adams, who was one of four players along with Los Angele’s Aaron Donald, Cleveland’s Myles Garrett and San Francisco’s Trent Williams to join The 99 Club at the launch of last season’s game and was still the highest-rated receiver at 98 overall at the end of the year.
Even if Jefferson doesn’t go into The 99 Club at the launch date, he could wind up having a prominent role as this year’s cover athlete.
While the cover athlete for Madden NFL 24 has not been announced, Jefferson has a case to be the first Vikings player to be showcased on the cover of Madden since Daunte Culpepper in Madden NFL 2002.
While Culpepper’s 2001 season (2,612 yards, 14 TD, 13 INT) may have some fans hoping Jefferson avoids “The Madden Curse,” Jefferson’s popularity as well as his touchdown dance “The Griddy” – which was featured in last year’s game as well as Fortnite – could make him a prime choice for this year’s cover athlete.
Some of this may not matter to some Vikings fans who just want to win a Super Bowl somewhere other than their PlayStation or Xbox but joining The 99 Club would be another accolade that cements Jefferson’s status as one of the top players in the NFL.
