An era has ended in the NFL. Tom Brady has retired from the NFL after playing for 23 years. This time it looks like it’s for good. It’s been such an amazing career for the 45-year-old and for a former 6th-round draft pick. It’s just crazy how he managed to end his career, considering where he began. Watching his progression in Madden is fascinating and a wild ride, so let’s take a look:
Madden 2001
Now if you look at the image above, you’ll notice that Tom Brady’s name is not listed above. Well, that’s because he was labeled as “QB No.12”. It’s just amazing that he goes from an unknown not only in real life but in the Madden games as well. He starts out with a 57 overall and this game ranked him under Drew Bledsoe, John Friesz, and Michael Bishop. Just crazy to see how he started and where he would end up.
Madden 2002
Well, I have good news and bad news when it comes to Tom Brady in this game. The good news is that Tom Brady does in fact get his own name in this game. The bad news is that his overall rating in this game drops a lot. He goes from a 57 overall to a 51 overall which is a 6 overall drop which is his biggest drop until Madden 2021 hits.
Madden 2003
This game is the biggest increase in an overall rating for Tom Brady in Madden. He went from being a 51st overall Madden player to an 84 overall player. A 33 overall increase which is just an insane increase and I can’t remember a larger overall increase in the game’s history. Maybe it has something to do with winning Super Bowl 36 against the St. Louis Rams and becoming the Super Bowl MVP. Probably a good reason why he got the overall increase.
Madden 2004
It’s time to welcome Mr. Brady to the 90 overall club as this is the game where he got there. His overall rises up by 6. It has something to do with getting to another Super Bowl and beating the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21. Technically Adam Vinatieri won this Super Bowl for the Patriots as he kicked an important field goal in the 4th quarter, but Brady played great as well.
Madden 2005
Brady’s overall keeps going up and up, going from 90 to a 95 overall rating. Don’t worry, it’s going to keep going higher.
Madden 2006
The rise keeps coming as Brady’s overall goes up from 95 to 97. Leading the league in passing yards in the previous seasons definitely gives a good reason for anyone’s player rating to go up.
Madden 2007
It’s a little surprising that Brady got a 98 overall rating. I kind of understand why, as Brady was unstoppable, but he sort of had a down year at that point. I know the Patriots went to the AFC Championship, but Brady should have had his rating stay at 97 or had it decreased in this game.
Madden 2008
He almost had it, but he did not get the 99 overall rating. This is a bit strange as at the time he was the best QB in the NFL and well deserved that rating. Maybe it had to do with the whole Spygate Scandal, which is a pretty good reason why to avoid that high rating.
Madden 2009
Mr. Brady, welcome to the 99 club. I’ll be keeping track of every time Brady’s overall rating is at 99. This is his first year to do it after he had a 16-0 season. It is well deserved, especially with how well he played. It sucks that he could not win in the Superbowl and had the winless record, but the 1972 Miami Dolphins squad thank you for losing in the Super Bowl.
Madden 10
Brady’s overall has now dropped to a 97 overall rating. I don’t know why, but I am more interested in why Madden has QB Kevin O’Connell at a 41 overall rating. It’s just perplexing, O’Connell was a terrible QB but he wasn’t that bad. I will say though, O’Connell has done a great job as the current head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.
Madden 11
I may be a Jets fan but I need to know why Brady didn’t get a 99 overall in this game. He led the league in touchdowns and QB rating. He even got the NFL MVP award! I just can’t figure it out as Brady had a fantastic performance in this season. But whoever decides the ratings believed that he should drop at 95 overall.
Madden 12
Now we get to the Peyton Hillis Madden Game. Honestly, this is one of my favorite Madden Games that I have ever played. Guess what, Brady is back in the 99 Club. This is his 2nd time being a part of this club and it sure won’t be the last.
Madden 13
It’s strange that Brady’s overall rating dropped to 98 in this game. From the research I’ve done on Brady, there is not a clear reason why his rating dropped. He was never injured and even threw fewer picks than the year before.
Madden 25 (2014)
It was called Madden 25 as it was the 25th anniversary of the Madden games coming out. I can’t wait until 2025 as that name is going to have to be different. However this is EA, so I guarantee that they will take the lazy route and copy and paste the name. Brady’s overall in this game is a 97, which is a slight drop from the previous year, but I’m not going to complain.
Madden 15
I have to ask, what did Tom Brady do to lower his overall rating to 93? Was it because he had one terrible game in the 2014 NFL Playoffs? I need answers EA, because there is no reason why Brady’s overall had dropped.
Madden 16
Luckily, Madden got their act together and raised the overall to what it should have been. It went from 93 to 97; a 4-point overall increase and it’s well deserved with how dominant of a player Brady was the year prior.
Madden 17
Brady’s overall in this game dropped from a 97 player overall to a 94. The rating dropped by 3 which is a bit perplexing. I have a feeling this rating dropped due to the Deflategate suspension that Brady had to serve. Brady was probably in the wrong regarding that scandal, I find it highly unlikely that he had no knowledge that those balls were not being deflated.
Madden 18
Lets get into the game where Brady is on the cover as a New England Patriot. To be honest it took them long enough to do this as I think Brady should have been on the cover many years ago. But, you know the old phrase that it is better late than never. Hey, look at that another year of Brady being a 99 overall player in a Madden Game. This is his 4th time getting that overall and it still won’t be the last.
Madden 19
Brady gets back-to-back 99 overall ratings. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time someone who is in their 40’s getting achieving this in a Madden Game. What I do remember is keeping track of all of Brady’s 99 overall ratings and this makes number 5 on the list.
Madden 20
This is it Patriots fans, the last time you’ll see Brady be playable as a New England Patriots player. In this game, his overall is 96. I don’t mind Brady’s overall dropping, as he is over 42 years old at this point. It’s still bizarre, yet exciting looking back at this game and realizing that Brady is gone here.
Madden 21
The first Madden Game with Tom Brady as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. Finally, change happened in the NFL where it was not the same old in the AFC. Now Brady can make his impact in the NFC with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In this game, his rating dropped to 90 overall, and let’s just say that was a mistake with Brady winning Super Bowl LV against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Madden 22
Brady is back on the cover in this game. As a Tampa Bay Buccaneer and he has the next face of the NFL in Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes on the cover as well. It’s quite impressive to see two of the greatest QB’s playing the game on the same cover of a video game. It could also be that Brady and Mahomes did compete in Superbowl 55 and EA wanted to capitalize on that. Brady’s overall in this game is 97.
Madden 23
Now we get to the final Madden where Tom Brady will be playable on a team. Unless you want to build your team in the ultimate team or as I like to call it the Pay To Win Team. In this game, Brady is a 90 overall rating, which makes no sense as he was statistically the best QB in the NFL last season. Maybe it had to do with Brady originally wanting to retire, but still, this overall rating makes no sense.
Madden 23 is playable on PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
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