METAIRIE, La. -- Michael Thomas has earned his place in the NFL record books and in the coveted "Madden 99 Club."
EA Sports announced Monday that the New Orleans Saints receiver has been upgraded to the maximum rating of 99 in its Madden 20 video game after he broke Marvin Harrison's NFL record of 143 catches in a season.
Thomas now has 145 catches -- with one game to play Sunday at Carolina.
✔️ Single Season Reception Record
— Madden NFL 20 (@EAMaddenNFL) December 23, 2019
✔️ 1,600+ Yards
✔️ #99Club
Congrats @Cantguardmike 🙌 pic.twitter.com/0SWWbMkf2P
Madden also honored Saints quarterback Drew Brees last week by making him a temporary member of the 99 Club after he broke Peyton Manning's NFL record for career touchdown passes.
Madden ratings are fluid, so the 99 Club members are subject to change. As of Week 16, the only other players listed with 99 ratings on the Madden site were Aaron Donald, DeAndre Hopkins, Patrick Mahomes and Christian McCaffrey.
Thomas was also helping the Saints give back to the community on the day after he set the record, handing out presents at Ochsner Hospital for Children.
A day after breaking the @NFL receptions record, @Cantguardmike is back in the community, handing out Christmas presents and visiting with patients at @OchsnerHealth Hospital for Children! pic.twitter.com/1bkNIxDmwc
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 23, 2019
Thomas downplayed the significance of individual achievements Sunday after he broke Harrison's record during a 38-28 victory over the Tennessee Titans, saying he is more focused on winning a championship.
"To be honest, it doesn't really mean nothing," Thomas said. "I don't take it for granted. But the fact that we still have more goals as a team -- as far as not the individual stuff that comes along with it -- I would be selfish to be like, 'Oh, I just caught all these passes and did all this.' Ultimately I was catching the passes to win the game, to help my team be in the position we're in now.
"So I just want to keep catching passes and end up where we're gonna be. ... That's ultimately what I'm here to do, and I feel like if I continue to do that I'll get more passes and I'll break more records."
