Madden NFL 2001 shipped in summer 2000 for the 2000 NFL season. Launch ratings are set before the season is played, so they reflect the previous year’s performance - a player’s breakout shows up in the next year’s game.
Madden NFL 2001 released August 21, 2000 with Titans running back Eddie George on the cover, the first player to appear on a Madden cover. On the era's lower scale the top overalls sat at 96: Junior Seau, Kurt Warner, Mike Alstott, Ray Lewis, and Warren Sapp.
Baltimore won Super Bowl XXXV, 34-7 over the Giants behind a record-setting defense, Ray Lewis named game MVP. Marshall Faulk won regular-season MVP and Offensive Player of the Year, Ray Lewis won Defensive Player of the Year, and Brian Urlacher and Mike Anderson won the rookie awards. Edgerrin James led the league with 1,709 rushing yards.
Kurt Warner, a 96 off his MVP season, broke a finger and threw 18 interceptions in 11 games. Faulk was the over-delivery, piling up 2,189 yards from scrimmage and 26 touchdowns. Eddie George ran for 1,509 yards on the cover, with the curse waiting for him the next season.