John Madden, the legendary NFL coach and announcer, died on December 28, 2021, at the age of 85. There was no explanation given in the media, and the NFL stated that it was unexpected. The former Oakland Raiders coach had the greatest record in the NFL among coaches with more than 100 games, with a winning percentage of 0.759.
Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, referred to Madden as “a very dear friend.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has long regarded John Madden as a dear friend.
His statement on the death of an NFL icon. pic.twitter.com/t5ZHEK5uoC
— David Moore (@DavidMooreDMN) December 29, 2021
Madden received 16 Emmy Awards as a commentator and analyst. He was also the creator of the EA Sports video game series Madden Football. According to ESPN, Madden has always considered himself first and foremost a coach. What was the sports legend’s net worth when he died?
How Much Money Did John Madden Have?
John Madden was a great NFL player, sportscaster, and entrepreneur who died with a net worth of $200 million. John Madden died at the age of 85 on December 28, 2021. Although John Madden was a great NFL coach, he is arguably better remembered today for his exploits after his playing days were over. He rose to prominence as an NFL analyst and eventually supported one of the most successful video game franchises of all time, “Madden NFL.”
John Madden was also a well-known writer who starred in numerous advertisements for a variety of different products. He was the first broadcaster to be paid a million dollars. He was also one of the first celebrities to earn more than $1 million in sponsorships every year.
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The “Madden” video game was responsible for the majority of Madden’s $200 million net worth. Much more on this offer at the end of the article…
John Madden Early Years
John Madden was born in Austin, Minnesota on April 10, 1936. His father relocated the family to California in order to explore employment prospects as an auto mechanic. John was still a child at the time, having spent the majority of his childhood in a little village just south of San Francisco.
He attended a Catholic school before transferring to Jefferson High School. During his high school years, John Madden quickly rose through the ranks of the football team. John was a gifted, versatile young athlete who excelled on both the offensive and defensive lines. He was also a superb baseball player.
John Madden College Football
After graduating from high school in 1954, John Madden immediately began playing football at the College of San Mateo. He transferred to the University of Oregon after one season to study pre-law and participate on the football team. Madden’s playing career was halted during his tenure at Oregon by the first of two serious injuries. A knee injury forced him to miss much of the season.
John Madden returned to San Mateo after recovering from his first injury and played another season of football. Following that, he transferred to California Polytechnic State University, where he played offense and defense for the Mustangs.
Madden demonstrated his worth as a football player once more, establishing himself as a powerful offensive lineman and earning all-conference honors. While getting his BS in Education, he also played catcher for the college baseball team. He eventually earned his MA in Education in 1961.
John Madden Professional Football Career
Although John Madden did play professional football at one point, his career was effectively finished before it began. Madden was picked by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 21st round of the 1958 draft, and it appeared that he would play in the NFL for a time. But calamity struck during his first training camp. He sustained a career-ending injury to his knee (not the one that had previously been hurt), and that was the end of his career.
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John Madden Coaching Profession
While healing from his knee injury, John Madden completed his teaching degrees in college. During this period, he also met with Norm Van Brocklin, whose career was coming to an end. The ex-quarterback demonstrated Madden’s video games and described what was going on in each play. Madden’s teaching education began to blend with football as he learned more about it. Coaching came as a natural progression.
Madden was an assistant coach at Allan Hancock College by 1960. He was named head coach two years later. San Diego State then hired him as an assistant defensive coach until 1966, when the team was ranked among the top in the country. During this time, he worked under tactical genius Don Coryell, whom Madden later credited with his success as an NFL coach.
John Madden was hired as the Oakland Raiders’ linebacker coach in 1967. Madden learned from his head coach, Al Davis, who learned from Sid Gillman. Madden was inadvertently adopting techniques from a man who had transformed professional football. By 1969, Davis had left the team, leaving Madden in charge at the age of 32. With this, John Madden became the NFL’s youngest head coach at the time.
Many see John Madden as the greatest Raiders coach of all time. Despite this, the team had a reputation for losing major games from 1969 until 1975. That all changed in 1976 when they won the AFC Championship over their long-time rivals, the Steelers. The following year, they defeated the Minnesota Vikings in the Super Bowl. By 1979, it was evident that coaching was harming John Madden’s health, and he stepped down.
John Madden Television Career
John Madden began a long and distinguished career as a color commentator and analyst immediately after resigning from coaching. He worked for all four major networks, including Fox, CBS, ABC, and NBC, finally.
He eventually rose to prominence as one of the most in-demand television personalities in American sports, collecting multi-million dollar contracts. NBC even promised to build Madden a “luxury train” to get him to join their network (John Madden is notoriously afraid of flying).
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John Madden Video Game Deal
At the height of his broadcasting career, John Madden earned $8 million per year, which equates to about $14 million now after inflation. Despite the large salary, Madden’s years of coaching and commentating have been overshadowed by his role in video games. In truth, the video game brand that bears John Madden’s name provided the great majority of his personal riches.
Electronic Arts has been publishing NFL video games using his name and likeness since 1988. Year after year, the series has been a huge commercial success, selling over 130 million copies to date.
In 2005, the video game company EA Sports agreed to a $300 million deal to become the NFL’s exclusive game developer. Around the same time, reports circulated that EA was considering dropping the name “Madden” from all future titles.
It was later found that John Madden had actually inked an agreement for a reputed $150 million that would let his likeness and name be used in the games in perpetuity. Furthermore, it is claimed that John Madden received roughly $2 million each year as a retainer until his retirement in 2009.
John Madden Endorsement Agreements
John Madden was one of the first celebrities to earn more than $1 million per year from sponsorships in the 1980s. He held endorsement arrangements with Miller Lite, Exxon, McDonald’s, Canon, and Ramada Inn in the 1980s.
He is probably best known now for his Tenactin sponsorship agreement. His partnership with Tenactin alone paid him $2 million per year at his peak in the 2000s. Madden later had endorsement relationships with companies like Ace Hardware, Outback Steakhouse, Verizon Wireless, Miller Lite, and Toyota.
In conclusion, John Madden, the legendary NFL coach and announcer, died on December 28, 2021, leaving behind an unrivaled legacy in the world of football. His untimely death at the age of 85 signaled the end of an era for sports fans. Madden’s net worth of $200 million transcends his coaching and commentary career, which was greatly affected by the breakthrough “Madden NFL” video game series.
