Madden NFL Series Namesake John Madden Dies, Aged 85
The American football coach and famous NFL presenter John Madden has unexpectedly passed away at the age of 85.
The National Football League (NFL) legend was best known across the 70s to have coached and won the Super Bowl with the Oakland Raiders in 1977. Once his career in coaching came to its end, Madden moved across to presenting, where he commentated on sporting events across channels such as ABC Sports, Fox Sports, CBS, and NBC Sports.
The NFL announced the news of Madden's passing, stating:
"There will never be another John Madden, and we will forever be indebted to him for all he did to make football and the NFL what it is today".
A (NFL) Gaming Legend
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Beyond his career in coaching and commentating, Madden became synonymous with videogames with the launch of the Madden NFL series in 1988 - although at the time it was known as John Madden Football. Madden didn't just lend his name to the series as the former coach also recorded thousands of lines of dialogue for the games' real-time styled commentary.
Madden was a massive advocate for producing realistic and tactical gameplay for the series - a standpoint that pushed the launch of the first game back by almost four years. However, this became a staple of the series, as the game could be referenced for real-life tactics. Madden's role in the video game series lasted up until Madden 09, when he eventually retired from his digital commentating duties.
The official Madden NFL 22 Twitter account released a statement thanking Madden for his commitment to the sport, with the endearing sign-off, "Thanks, Coach" - Madden's nickname.
Madden was said to have passed "unexpectedly", with no cause of death announced. Regardless, the news has left the sporting and gaming worlds in disarray as they mourn the death of a legend.
