Speed Inflation
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How Madden speed ratings have evolved over 25 years
Football has gotten faster. That's not opinion, it's measurable. Madden ratings track speed numerically for every player on every roster every year, and stacking those numbers across decades reveals exactly how much faster the average NFL athlete has become. This chart visualizes that evolution position by position.
A single line chart plots average speed rating per season for each of nine position groups, from quarterback through special teams. Toggle groups on and off using the colored pills, or use Select All to compare everyone at once. The Y-axis spans 40 to 90 so changes across positions stay visually comparable. A dashed reference line at 2011 marks the most recent CBA, a natural inflection point worth watching for changes in how the league trains and recovers. A headline stat above the chart sums up the total league-wide speed increase between the earliest and most recent year of data.
Pair it with Madden History for the broader rating-trends view across OVR, strength, and awareness, or check the 99 Club to see the elite players whose speed ratings often drive the curve. The Madden ratings guide explains what speed inflation is and why it matters.
+12.8 points
Average league speed increase from 2001 to 2025(68.8 → 81.6)
| Season | QB | WR/Pass | RB/Rush | TE | OL | DL | LB | DB | ST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 56.1 | 85.3 | 83.0 | 69.7 | 45.3 | 60.6 | 72.6 | 84.7 | 62.1 |
| 2002 | 58.0 | 87.2 | 85.4 | 68.4 | 47.3 | 61.7 | 74.3 | 85.4 | 52.3 |
| 2003 | 55.4 | 87.9 | 86.1 | 67.5 | 46.0 | 61.9 | 74.5 | 86.2 | 43.2 |
| 2004 | 58.1 | 88.9 | 87.6 | 70.6 | 50.5 | 64.1 | 76.0 | 87.2 | 52.8 |
| 2005 | 59.9 | 89.4 | 88.1 | 71.0 | 51.3 | 64.9 | 77.1 | 87.7 | 53.9 |
| 2006 | 61.7 | 89.1 | 87.8 | 72.7 | 52.6 | 65.4 | 77.8 | 88.1 | 55.0 |
| 2007 | 62.7 | 89.4 | 88.5 | 73.9 | 53.4 | 66.0 | 78.7 | 88.3 | 57.5 |
| 2008 | 64.4 | 90.8 | 89.3 | 76.1 | 54.7 | 68.4 | 79.4 | 89.1 | 57.4 |
| 2009 | 66.0 | 89.1 | 87.6 | 74.4 | 55.3 | 66.6 | 78.1 | 87.5 | 60.2 |
| 2010 | 67.1 | 88.5 | 87.5 | 75.1 | 57.1 | 66.8 | 78.3 | 87.1 | 61.8 |
| 2011 | 68.1 | 88.6 | 87.7 | 76.1 | 57.6 | 68.1 | 79.2 | 87.5 | 61.3 |
| 2012 | 68.9 | 89.7 | 87.6 | 76.9 | 59.0 | 68.7 | 79.6 | 87.9 | 63.2 |
| 2013 | 70.2 | 89.6 | 87.8 | 77.3 | 60.0 | 69.2 | 79.8 | 88.3 | 64.1 |
| 2014 | 71.1 | 89.8 | 87.4 | 77.9 | 60.5 | 69.4 | 80.7 | 88.5 | 65.9 |
| 2015 | 74.1 | 88.3 | 86.0 | 79.0 | 63.3 | 70.8 | 80.7 | 87.5 | 68.0 |
| 2016 | 74.5 | 89.0 | 87.0 | 79.8 | 63.2 | 71.4 | 81.0 | 88.0 | 68.9 |
| 2017 | 75.7 | 89.3 | 87.9 | 80.6 | 64.2 | 72.6 | 82.0 | 88.5 | 70.3 |
| 2018 | 76.3 | 89.3 | 87.8 | 80.8 | 64.5 | 72.9 | 82.6 | 88.6 | 70.8 |
| 2019 | 77.2 | 89.5 | 88.0 | 81.0 | 64.9 | 73.1 | 82.9 | 88.8 | 71.3 |
| 2020 | 77.5 | 89.4 | 88.0 | 80.6 | 64.7 | 73.3 | 82.8 | 88.7 | 71.5 |
| 2021 | 79.4 | 89.4 | 88.0 | 81.3 | 64.8 | 73.5 | 83.1 | 88.9 | 71.9 |
| 2022 | 79.1 | 89.4 | 88.1 | 81.1 | 65.3 | 73.6 | 83.5 | 89.3 | 71.9 |
| 2023 | 80.7 | 89.7 | 88.5 | 81.9 | 65.7 | 73.8 | 84.2 | 89.5 | 72.8 |
| 2024 | 81.7 | 89.8 | 88.8 | 83.1 | 67.4 | 74.9 | 84.6 | 89.7 | 74.1 |
| 2025 | 81.6 | 89.8 | 89.0 | 83.1 | 67.4 | 74.7 | 84.8 | 89.6 | 74.6 |
Has the average NFL player’s speed actually increased over time?
Yes. Average NFL player speed has measurably increased over time, by League Station’s count of Madden speed ratings across nine position groups since 2000. The chart marks the 2011 CBA with a dashed reference line as a natural inflection point worth watching, and a headline stat above the chart sums the total league-wide speed gain across the dataset.