John Madden, an NFL legend who is in the Hall of Fame and is the namesake for EA’s Madden NFL video game series, has died. He was 85.
Madden died Tuesday morning, the NFL confirmed, as reported by the Associated Press. Madden coached the Oakland Raiders to great success, including a Super Bowl victory in 1976.
BREAKING: Hall of Fame coach turned broadcaster John Madden, whose exuberant calls combined with simple explanations provided a weekly soundtrack to NFL games for three decades, died Tuesday morning at the age of 85, the NFL said. https://t.co/8sSXhqqWz4
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 29, 2021
After retiring from coaching with the second-highest winning percentage of any coach (behind the legendary Vince Lombardi), he moved on to become an NFL analyst and has won several Emmy awards, we reported in 2009. The heavy travel demanded by Madden’s broadcast job was aggravated by a severe fear of flying, leading the analyst to drive from destination to destination in a tricked-out RV called “The Madden cruiser.”
As of 2016, Madden was still helping out with the video game series.
EA Sports has yet to release a statement or any commentary regarding Madden’s passing. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.
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