Madden NFL 99 is a football video game. It features John Madden

John Madden (American football)

John Earl Madden is a former American professional football player in the National Football League, a former Super Bowl-winning head coach with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League and later the NFL, and a former color commentator for NFL telecasts. In 2006, he was inducted into...

 on most covers, but the PAL

PAL

PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...

 version featured Garrison Hearst

Garrison Hearst

Gerard Garrison Hearst is a former National Football League running back who last played for the NFL's Denver Broncos in 2004. He had previously played for the Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals, and San Francisco 49ers...

 on the cover. It was available for both the Nintendo 64

Nintendo 64

The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...

 and PlayStation. The game's commentary is done by Madden and Pat Summerall

Pat Summerall

George Allen "Pat" Summerall is a former American football player and television sportscaster, having worked at CBS, Fox, and ESPN.Summerall is best known for his work with John Madden on NFL telecasts for CBS and Fox.-High school:...

.

Features

• The game was the first to feature the concept of covering the ball while running and the chop block and "clothesline" techniques which were later scrapped and moved to players simply tackling ball-carriers. Although players' heights now resemble their real life counterparts, all players share the same sized physiques. The game also had twelve historic teams including the 1978 Steelers and 1985 Bears and secret teams such as the Tiburon sports team and NFL All-Star teams from each decade.
• This was the first Madden game to feature Franchise Mode, in which the user could control their team for 15 seasons. The user was able to trade players, sign/release players, draft future players, etc.

Glitches and errors

• Offensive Players progressively get better in attributes, while defensive players rise slowly.
• There is an abundance of 90+ rated kickers and punters in the NFL Draft in Franchise Mode and less players rated at any other position and draft talent differs from year to year.
• The NFL Draft in Franchise has only 4 rounds as opposed to 7 in real-life and if the player simulates the draft, they will forfeit their remaining picks.
• If the player waits too long to throw the player will receive a penalty for holding
  Holding (American football)
  In gridiron football, holding is the illegal restraining of another player who is not in possession of the ball. Holding is banned in most football leagues because it does not allow fair play of the game and increases the risk for injury....
  
  .
• The Nintendo 64
  Nintendo 64
  The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
  
   version does not call any penalties except for holding, encroachment, offsides, false start, and delay of game. You may set penalty levels for roughing the passer, roughing the kicker, personal foul, face masking, def pass int., off pass int., fair catch int., punt catch int., clipping, and intentional grounding, but they do not appear to be functional.
• The play clock occasionally does not display on screen after calling a play.

Free agents

• Created Players from NCAA Football '99 can be put in the game as free agents and put on other teams in Quick Game Mode.
• Darnell Autry
  Darnell Autry
  Harrington Darnell Autry is a former American football player who played college football at Northwestern University. In his sophomore season, he helped lead the Northwestern Wildcats to the Big Ten Championship and the 1996 Rose Bowl...
  
   of Northwestern Wildcats football
  Northwestern Wildcats football
  The Northwestern Wildcats football team, representing Northwestern University, is a NCAA Division I team and member of the Big Ten Conference, with evidence of organization in 1876...
  
   fame is in the game as a free agent.
• Gary Zimmerman
  Gary Zimmerman
  Gary Wayne Zimmerman is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League. Zimmerman played for the Minnesota Vikings from 1986-1992 and for the Denver Broncos from 1993-1997. He was selected to the Pro Bowl 7 times and was an All-Pro selection 8 times...
  
   appears as a free agent despite being retired at the beginning of the season.

Rankings

The Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 had the best team overall in the game with a score of 92. The worst teams in the game were the New York Jets

New York Jets

The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 and the Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 with a score of 70. The best offense in the game belongs to the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

 with a score of 95. The best defense in the game belongs to the San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...

 with a score of 97. The best special teams in the game belongs to the New England Patriots

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

with a perfect score of 100.