Aaron Donald's Madden rating matches his No. 99 Rams jersey for record seventh time

Aaron Donald wears No. 99 on his Rams jersey.

Maybe that's why he always seems to get a coveted 99 Madden rating.

Or maybe he's just that good.

Yeah, it's definitely the latter.

On Tuesday, Donald was announced as a member of the vaunted 99 Club for the upcoming "Madden NFL 24," marking the record seventh time the star defensive tackle has been given the highest rating a player can receive in the popular video game series from EA Sports.

Read more: Aaron Donald retire? After ankle surgery, a comeback with young Rams is only thought

Donald has been rated at the top at his position every year since "Madden NFL 18" was released before the 2017 season. Last year he tied Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning for the record with six such ratings.

"Might as well call it the Aaron Donald Club," the Rams tweeted Tuesday.

Donald was named the Associated Press defensive player of the year in 2017, 2018 and 2020. Last year he missed the final six games of the season with a high ankle injury that required surgery and was not named All-Pro after earning the honor the previous seven seasons.

That didn't stop him from joining Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson as the first two members of this year's 99 Club. EA Sports is rolling out the player ratings this week, announcing running backs tomorrow, defensive secondary Thursday and quarterbacks Friday.

Rams receiver Cooper Kupp got a 96 player rating.

Read more: Josh Allen beat the competition for 'Madden NFL 24' cover. Can he beat Madden Curse?

Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.