Game Notes
- Release date: July 31, 1998 (Based on on the 1998 NFL season.)
- Cover athlete: John Madden (Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Windows PC), Garrison Hearst RB San Francisco 49ers (PAL)
- 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. The Cleveland Browns, who were a year away from rejoining the league, can be accessed for exhibition games via the password "WELCOMEBACK".
Player Notes
- 100 Overall Club: RB Barry Sanders (Lions), WR Jerry Rice (49ers), TE Shannon Sharpe (Broncos), TE Mark Chmura (Packers), OT Tony Boselli (Jaguars), CB Deion Sanders (Cowboys)
- 99 Overall Club: TE Ben Coates (Patriots), C Dermontti Dawson (Steelers), OG Randall McDaniel (Vikings), OG Larry Allen (Cowboys), OG Mark Schlereth (Broncos), OT Jonathan Ogden (Ravens), OT Willie Roaf (Saints), DE Bruce Smith (Bills), DE Neil Smith (Broncos), DE Reggie White (Packers), DE Tony Brackens (Jaguars), MLB Ken Norton Jr. (49ers), CB Jason Sehorn (Giants), K Morten Andersen (Falcons)
- A limited number of players or their names can now be either created or edited as modified roster.
- 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 of Northwestern Wildcats football fame is in the game as a free agent.
- Gary Zimmerman appears as a free agent despite being retired at the beginning of the season.
- Pepper Johnson is listed incorrectly as a 24-year-old twelve-year veteran, which would mean he would have been a 12-year-old rookie.