The Legacy Of John Madden: A Deep Dive Into The Iconic Football Franchise

The name "John Madden" and football go together like peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti and meatballs, or any other perfect pair you can imagine. Since its release in 1988, the Madden video game series has become one of the most successful sports game franchises of all time. To date, Madden has sold more than 130 million copies and has influenced both players and coaches alike.

It’s been lucrative for fans, too – Madden tournaments are hosted around the country, pitting virtual quarterbacks against each other. But obviously, it was primarily lucrative for Mr. Madden himself. Can you picture a world where the Madden name wasn’t attached to EA Sports' football product? Believe it or not, it nearly happened!

A Quick History Of Madden NFL

John Madden Football was released on MS-DOS, Apple II, and both the Commodore 64 and Commodore 128 systems in 1988. Unlike present-day versions that feature a player on the cover, the initial Madden offering had Madden himself bursting through a chalkboard, holding a football and looking like the camera just caught him in the middle of saying his signature "Boom!" It’s glorious.

Players couldn't do an entire season in this first game, only single contests. Because EA Sports didn’t have an NFL or NFLPA license, the game didn’t feature any actual MVP teams, though users could create a brand-new squad from scratch. After skipping a season in 1989, EA Sports has released a Madden game every year since.

In 1991, EA decided to start tacking a year to each game’s title, starting with Madden '92. Real teams began appearing in Madden NFL '94, and real players were introduced in Madden NFL '95. That year was also the first handheld version of the game, appearing on both Game Boy and Game Gear. The following year marked the first time gamers could create a player.

Evolution of Gameplay and Features

At the turn of the century, Madden NFL 2000 was the first game to be released for both Windows and Mac systems, though it would be the last Mac title until 2008. In 2001, Madden started featuring current NFL players on the cover. Eddie George was the debut athlete to make an appearance, and was also the first player to fall victim to the "Madden curse." This curse has been well documented, with players like Michael Vick being featured on the cover (in the 2004 version) and then missing several or all of the games due to an injury or a poor season the following year.

Subsequent versions have introduced both popular and hated Madden features like the Truck Stick, the QB vision cone, and the Connected Careers mode. Each new release has strived to enhance realism, depth, and player engagement, making the series a staple for football fans worldwide.

John Madden Cashes In BIG TIME

Back in 2004, EA Sports felt threatened by 2K Sports' ESPN NFL 2K5 video game, so they signed an exclusive license with the NFL and the NFLPI (National Football League Players Incorporated). This deal gave EA Sports exclusive rights to use the NFL’s teams, stadiums, and players in a video game, preventing other companies from making official NFL video games. The deal was reportedly worth $300 million. It has been widely criticized, as it essentially defines a monopoly.

Around the same time, perhaps in an effort to start fresh with their newly one-of-a-kind franchise, EA debated the idea of dropping the name "Madden" from all future games. Perhaps as a cost-saving measure, perhaps because they just didn’t think the name was necessary. In the end, the decision-makers at EA concluded that the Madden name shouldn’t be dropped after all. They recognized its significance and went back to John to start negotiating.

Ultimately, EA made John Madden a VERY generous offer. In order to secure the rights to use his name and likeness in their game in perpetuity, EA paid John…

$150 million

As part of the deal, he also is paid $2 to $3 million every year as a retainer. Madden retired from lending his voice to both real-life and video game broadcasts in 2009, but for the remainder of his life, he had significant input in his video games. With the amount of money EA Sports was paying him, it was only fitting! Now if we could only find some way to win a virtual turducken…