Madden NFL 2002 is another yearly update in the long-running football franchise. With main series developer Tiburon focusing their efforts on the new generation of consoles, it fell to developer Budcat to update the game for the new year on the veteran platforms PlayStation and Nintendo 64. The 2002 version is closely based on the previous year's game, with almost the same menus and many of the same modes and options, but also several new features, including a redesigned kick meter and mulligans, allowing one to take back and replay a limited number of plays per game.

The included teams have been updated for the 2001 NFL season and include the 31 regular teams plus the 2002 expansion team, the Houston Texans, NFC and AFC all-star teams and two All-Madden teams (2000 and Super Bowl). Exclusive to the PlayStation version are more than 90 classic NFL teams, 31 all-time franchise teams, and the 6 NFL Europe teams.