Adam Vinatieri Madden Career 1997-2020 - Peak 99 OVR
Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2020 rating

Adam Vinatieri Madden Career 1997-2020 - Peak 99 OVR

Position
K
Team
Colts
Height
6'0"
Weight
212
College
South Dakota St.
DOB
Dec 28, 1972
Madden
1996-2019
78OVR
2019 Current
99OVR
Peak 2003
22
Seasons Played

The greatest clutch kicker ever, the all-time scorer, and two 99s

Adam Vinatieri went undrafted out of South Dakota State in 1996, and he became the greatest clutch kicker the game has seen. Signed by New England, he authored the two most famous kicks of his era in the snow against Oakland in the January 2002 Tuck Rule game, a 45-yarder to tie and a 23-yarder to win in overtime, then won two Super Bowls at the gun.

The Madden card, noisy in the early years the way kicker cards always are, settled into a 99 in Madden NFL 04 and again in 06, holding high across a career of remarkable reliability. Those peaks came around the seasons of his signature moments, the walk-off 48-yarder to win Super Bowl XXXVI and the 41-yarder with four seconds left to win Super Bowl XXXVIII, kicks that defined a dynasty.

He later joined Indianapolis, won a third ring in Super Bowl XLI, and retired as the all-time leading scorer in NFL history with more than 2,600 points and four championships. He went into the Hall of Fame in 2026, a rare honor for a kicker. Vinatieri is the standard against which clutch kicking is measured, the man teams wanted on the field with the game on the line. His two 99s are the fair record of a specialist whose value was highest in the exact moments that decided championships.

Adam Vinatieri Madden Career Milestones

  • Peak rating: 99 OVR in Madden NFL 2004 (age 30)
  • Appeared in 22 Madden releases (Madden NFL 1997 through Madden NFL 2020)
  • Entered at 70 OVR in Madden NFL 1997, climbed 29 points to his peak
  • Biggest single-year rise: 32 points into Madden NFL 2003
  • Played for 2 franchises: Patriots, Colts
  • Listed as a special-teams player in every Madden release
  • Final Madden appearance: Madden NFL 2020 at 78 OVR

Adam Vinatieri Madden Career Ratings

Scale (starred* rows) Only the starred 1-15-era seasons convert; modern rows stay 0-99.
Madden Team Pos OVR Speed ACC AGI STR JMP STA INJ TGH AWR PRC THP TAC TAS TAM TAD PAC TOR CAR TRK BCV SFA SPM JKM CTH SPC CIT SRR MRR DRR RLS RBK PBK IBL TAK POW PUR MCV ZCV PRS KPW KAC KRN
1997
1996 NFL season
 Patriots K 70 37 64 26 - 86 37 - - 17 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 90 70 -
1998 *
1997 NFL season
 Patriots K 95* 59 - 66 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 33 - - - - - 92 99 -
1999
1998 NFL season
 Patriots K 60* 44 9 39 39 - - 0 - 76 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 93 93 -
2000
1999 NFL season
 Patriots K 59* 34 34 38 34 - - 75 - 80 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 87 87 -
2003
2002 NFL season
 Patriots K 91 30 18 29 26 29 72 88 43 - - 29 - - - - - - 21 - - - - - 29 - - - - - - 18 22 - 19 - - - - - 91 90 -
2004
2003 NFL season
 Patriots K 99 38 28 39 40 29 92 88 43 90 - 29 - 15 15 15 - - 21 - - - - - 29 - - - - - - 18 22 - 19 - - - - - 94 95 0
2005
2004 NFL season
 Patriots K 96 49 50 52 40 29 92 88 43 92 - 29 - - - - - - 21 - - - - - 29 - - - - - - 18 22 - 19 - - - - - 94 90 -
2006
2005 NFL season
 Patriots K 99 49 50 52 40 29 97 94 - 94 - 29 - 15 15 15 - - 21 - - - - - 29 - - - - - - 18 22 - 32 - - - - - 94 94 0
2007
2006 NFL season
 Colts K 97 59 60 58 40 29 97 94 43 97 27 29 - 15 15 15 - - 21 15 10 10 10 10 29 - - - - - - 18 22 18 32 - 19 14 16 - 94 90 0
2008
2007 NFL season
 Colts K 98 59 60 58 40 29 97 94 - 72 27 29 - 15 15 15 - - 21 10 10 10 10 10 29 15 15 15 15 15 15 18 22 18 32 10 19 14 16 10 91 97 0
2009
2008 NFL season
 Colts K 93 59 60 58 40 29 97 90 60 86 27 29 - 15 15 15 - - 40 10 10 10 10 10 29 15 15 15 15 15 15 18 22 18 32 10 19 14 16 10 90 96 10
2010
2009 NFL season
 Colts K 79 59 60 58 40 29 97 90 60 - - 29 - - - - - - 40 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 82 92 10
2011
2010 NFL season
 Colts K 82 59 60 58 40 29 97 90 60 91 27 29 - 35 30 25 20 20 40 10 10 10 10 10 29 15 15 15 15 15 15 18 22 18 32 12 19 14 16 10 88 89 10
2012
2011 NFL season
 Colts K 90 59 60 58 40 - 97 90 60 93 - 29 15 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 88 91 -
2013
2012 NFL season
 Colts K 89 59 60 58 40 29 97 90 60 93 27 29 - 35 30 25 20 20 40 10 10 10 10 10 29 15 15 15 15 15 15 18 22 18 32 12 19 14 16 10 89 89 10
2014
2013 NFL season
 Colts K 87 59 - 58 40 29 97 90 60 91 27 29 - 35 30 25 20 20 40 10 10 10 10 10 29 15 15 15 15 15 15 18 22 18 32 12 19 14 16 10 87 89 10
2015
2014 NFL season
 Colts K 88 59 60 58 40 29 97 90 60 93 27 29 - 35 30 25 20 20 40 10 10 10 10 10 50 15 15 15 15 15 15 18 22 18 32 12 19 14 16 10 90 87 10
2016
2015 NFL season
 Colts K 90 59 60 58 40 29 97 90 60 93 27 29 - 35 30 25 20 20 40 10 10 10 10 10 50 15 15 15 15 15 15 18 22 18 32 12 19 14 16 10 88 91 10
2017
2016 NFL season
 Colts K 84 59 60 57 40 29 97 90 60 75 27 29 - 35 30 25 20 20 40 10 10 10 10 10 50 15 15 15 15 15 15 18 22 18 32 12 19 14 16 10 88 93 10
2018
2017 NFL season
 Colts K 84 56 58 57 40 29 97 90 60 73 27 29 - 35 30 25 20 20 40 10 10 10 10 10 50 15 15 15 15 15 15 18 22 18 32 12 19 14 16 10 88 93 10
2019
2018 NFL season
 Colts K 84 56 58 57 40 29 97 90 60 73 27 29 - 35 30 25 20 20 40 10 10 10 10 10 50 15 15 15 - 15 15 18 22 18 32 12 19 14 16 10 88 94 10
2020
2019 NFL season
 Colts K 78 56 58 57 40 29 97 90 60 66 27 29 - 35 30 25 20 20 40 10 10 10 10 10 50 15 15 15 - 15 15 18 22 18 32 12 19 14 16 10 93 85 10
How to read these: Each row is the player’s rating in that year’s Madden, listed by the NFL season it covers (Madden NFL 2001 = the 2000 season). Madden sets its ratings before the season is played, so they reflect the previous season’s performance - a player’s breakout year tends to show up as a jump in the following year’s game.
About the starred rows*: Several early Madden releases rated players on a 1-15 scale, as printed in the game manuals, rather than the modern 0-99. We store those ratings converted to 0-99 (each manual point is about 6.6) so you can compare players across eras at a glance - use the 0-99 / 1-15 toggle above the table to see the original numbers on those seasons. EA didn’t publish an overall rating in those games, so the OVR* values for those years are our own calculation, the average of the player’s two best ratings.
Note: Some Madden releases tracked fewer attributes than others. Cells shown as - were not published by EA that year.

Era Special Teams who played alongside Adam Vinatieri

Adam Vinatieri Madden ratings
Adam Vinatieri
Madden NFL 1997-2020 - Colts
99
 Shane Lechler Madden ratings
Shane Lechler
Madden NFL 2001-2019 - Texans
99
 David Akers Madden ratings
David Akers
Madden NFL 2001-2014 - Lions
99
 Mike Vanderjagt Madden ratings
Mike Vanderjagt
Madden NFL 2000-2007 - Cowboys
99
 Brian Moorman Madden ratings
Brian Moorman
Madden NFL 2003-2015 - Bills
98
 Matt Stover Madden ratings
Matt Stover
Madden NFL 1992-2010 - Colts
98
 Todd Sauerbrun Madden ratings
Todd Sauerbrun
Madden NFL 1996-2009
98
 Sebastian Janikowski Madden ratings
Sebastian Janikowski
Madden NFL 2001-2019 - Seahawks
97
NFL career stats: View Adam Vinatieri's NFL stats & grades →

Adam Vinatieri Madden Ratings by Year

Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 1997 rating: 70 OVR (1996 NFL season, NE). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 1998 rating: 95 OVR (1997 NFL season, NE). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 1999 rating: 60 OVR (1998 NFL season, NE). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2000 rating: 59 OVR (1999 NFL season, NE). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2003 rating: 91 OVR (2002 NFL season, NE). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2004 rating: 99 OVR (2003 NFL season, NE). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2005 rating: 96 OVR (2004 NFL season, NE). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2006 rating: 99 OVR (2005 NFL season, NE). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2007 rating: 97 OVR (2006 NFL season, IND). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2008 rating: 98 OVR (2007 NFL season, IND). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2009 rating: 93 OVR (2008 NFL season, IND). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2010 rating: 79 OVR (2009 NFL season, IND). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2011 rating: 82 OVR (2010 NFL season, IND). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2012 rating: 90 OVR (2011 NFL season, IND). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2013 rating: 89 OVR (2012 NFL season, IND). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2014 rating: 87 OVR (2013 NFL season, IND). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2015 rating: 88 OVR (2014 NFL season, IND). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2016 rating: 90 OVR (2015 NFL season, IND). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2017 rating: 84 OVR (2016 NFL season, IND). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2018 rating: 84 OVR (2017 NFL season, IND). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2019 rating: 84 OVR (2018 NFL season, IND). Adam Vinatieri Madden NFL 2020 rating: 78 OVR (2019 NFL season, IND).