The upcoming Madden 26 video game announced its “99 Club” this past week, and some players clearly aren’t happy about being left out. One of them appears to be Patrick Surtain II, who sounded disappointed after missing the cut, adding to the yearly controversy that surrounds the franchise’s portrayal of the NFL.
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Surtain is one of the most feared cornerbacks in the league. He’s the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, too, and has already made 2 All-Pro first teams in four seasons. At times, quarterbacks simply won’t throw to Surtain’s side of the field because they’re afraid of the ball being intercepted. This effectively shuts down the opposing team’s top receiving option.
Because of that, most rank him as the No. 1 player at his position. But even that wasn’t enough to get Surtain into this year’s Madden 99 Club. Instead, he landed a few ticks below at a 97 overall.
When Surtain saw his rating, he naturally seemed disappointed, calling out Chad Johnson, the ratings guru, on Twitter.
@ochocinco ♂️
— Patrick Surtain (@PatSurtainll) July 28, 2025
In response to the face-palm emoji, Johnson, true to form, reassured the corner that he had his back. “Hold tight twin I gotcha,” Johnson wrote.
It was a harmless interaction where Ocho insinuated that the 99 rating is eventually coming for Surtain. He probably just needs to have a good start to the season to cement it. After all, the 97 isn’t set in stone; Johnson can go back and update the rating whenever he wants.
Hold tight twin i gotcha https://t.co/RZYCgjkjcx
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) July 28, 2025
However, it’s not like 97 is a bad rating. It’s actually very solid. But with the 99 club being hyped up nowadays, everyone wants to be in it. So, when a player like Surtain feels as though they should be in it, they’re going to make it known.
Even Joe Burrow didn’t seem too happy about being left out of the 99 club while his teammate Ja’Marr Chase was in it. The Cincinnati Bengals wideout recently showed off his achievement by buying a silver chain that said “99”. He then walked over to Burrow’s locker and told him, “I beat you.”
“Nice. Cool, man,” Burrow responded via Sports Illustrated as the duo laughed it off.
It may not be something older fans fully grasp, but Madden has become a prominent video game that modern NFL players grew up playing. For them, their rating holds real significance. They use it to compare themselves to others and track how much they’ve improved year to year.
For Surtain, he’ll just have to prove himself to Johnson to earn a spot in the 99 club, and the same goes for Burrow. There are no handouts when it comes to joining, nor should there be. Only seven players made it this year, with just one defender: Myles Garrett. It’s not simply for the best. It’s for the best of the elite.
