Patrick Mahomes gets massive snub in first ‘Madden 26’ ratings

It’s ratings week in the world of Madden NFL 26 with EA sports slowing rolling out its player grades to kick off the upcoming season. On Monday we got our first dose of the best players in the game with the famous ‘99 Club,’ and there was an absolutely stunning omission.

That’s right: No Patrick Mahomes.

With both Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson making it into the 99 Club it means that Mahomes is the third best QB in the game, at best. There’s a possible argument to be made that he could be tied or passed by Joe Burrow as well, which would really turn heads.

Ask most people in football who the best QB in the league is and Mahomes is almost universally mentioned as No. 1. There’s no doubt he had a bit of a down year in 2024, failing to crack 4,000 passing yards for the first time in his career as a starter, but can you really blame the guy? Rashee Rice spent much of the season suspended, Travis Kelce slowed down a step, Xavier Worthy was a rookie, and DeAndre Hopkins only played part of the year, and it aging out to boot.

Despite all this Mahomes still finished with 3,928 yards in 16 games, 26 TDs and only 11 INTs. Nobody last season touched Jackson’s efficiency in passing numbers, and Allen threw for fewer yards. That said, Allen’s rushing numbers put him over the top.

It still won’t be much to satiate Mahomes fans who can make a solid case for him being the NFL’s best quarterback who was bumped out of the top tier due to circumstance.

Here’s the full 99 Club from 2026 compared to the 2025 class.

There’s always a chance Mahomes get upgraded through in-season updates, and let’s be real: There’s a good chance it happens. In 2026 he’s set to have Rice back, Hollywood Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster returning — as well as Worthy getting more settled into his role.

This might be the only time Mahomes isn’t a 99 overall for a while.