Madden NFL 2003 shipped in summer 2002 for the 2002 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 2003 released August 12, 2002 with Marshall Faulk on the cover. Larry Allen, Faulk, Michael Strahan, Ray Lewis, and Warren Sapp were the launch 99s.
Tampa Bay won Super Bowl XXXVII, 48-21 over Oakland, safety Dexter Jackson named game MVP. Rich Gannon won regular-season MVP and Offensive Player of the Year, Derrick Brooks won Defensive Player of the Year, and Clinton Portis and Julius Peppers won the rookie awards. Marvin Harrison set the single-season catch record with 143 grabs.
Cover man Faulk slipped to 953 rushing yards as injuries chipped at the Rams dynasty, short of his 99. Harrison was the over-delivery, rewriting the receptions record on 1,722 yards.