NFL fans buzz as Saquon Barkley joins 99 Club with Madden 26 rating

Saquon Barkley had a historic day on Monday. The Philadelphia Eagles running back was revealed as the cover for the Madden 26 game, with his iconic reverse huddle to feature on the game’s front page in the upcoming release.

But that wasn’t the only special Madden feature related to the running back on Monday. It was also revealed that he’ll now be part of the 99 Club, reserved for members who achieve the 99 overall rating inside the game. He’s the first-ever offensive player for the Philadelphia Eagles to join the club.

After news of the rating was released, NFL fans took to Twitter in a celebratory mood to speak about the achievement. Some of the fans even made comparisons to other stars of the position, such as Derrick Henry and Christian McCaffrey, stating that Saquon is a superior player:

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“Better than Henry and McCaffrey”, wrote one fan.

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“Best RB season ever. Imagine what Giants fans are thinking”, trolled another Eagles fan.

“Barkley earned that 99 for sure. Hopefully he avoids the Madden Cover Curse” was another wish from a fan.

Saquon Barkley earns new contract with Philadelphia Eagles following Super Bowl win

Saquon had the best season of his career. He led the league with 2,005 rushing yards with 15 total touchdowns in his first season with the Eagles. He also set the single-season rushing yards record (including playoffs) with 2,504, although he did not break Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing yards record that includes just the regular season.

As such, he earned a new deal with the franchise following their Super Bowl LIX win over the Kansas City Chiefs. He added two years for $41 million, and those numbers now have him as the highest-paid running back in the NFL. He’s also the only one to cross the $20 million mark on average.

Another running back to sign a contract extension this offseason was Derrick Henry, who penned a new two-year, $30 million deal with the Baltimore Ravens. Although this represented a big raise over his previous deal, it’s still well below what Barkley earned from the Eagles.

About the author

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alt=”Henrique Bulio” height=”72″ width=”72″>

Henrique Bulio is an NFL and College Football journalist at Sportskeeda and the Editor-in-Chief of Pro Football Brasil. He has a total 13 years of experience working in American Football, and playing quarterback at an amateur level in Brazil has given him a unique perspective of the game.

Henrique follows the Philadelphia Eagles closely due to Michael Vick’s historic performance on MNF against the Washington Commanders in 2010. His all-time favorite player is Ed Reed; he believes that Reed is the greatest safety to ever play the game. Bill Belichick gets the nod as Henrique’s favorite coach for coaching the Patriots to glory over two decades.

If Henrique were to be able to go back in time and watch one game, it would be Super Bowl XLIX, where the Patriots and the Seahawks played a complete, back-and-forth game that concluded with one of the biggest talking points in NFL history.

Technical deep dives are Henrique’s specialty, and he ensures never to use misleading words in his articles, since he himself consumes a lot of information off the web. He has had the privilege of interviewing Cairo Santos, Lamar Jackson, Jim Harbaugh, Sean McDermott, Bruce Arians, Matt LaFleur, among others.

Aside from football, Henrique likes to play poker and Counter-Strike.

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