Boom! John Madden was a great NFL player, sportscaster, and entrepreneur who, at the time of his death, had a net worth in the neighborhood of $200 million. John Madden, who died on December 28, 2021, at the age of 85, was an American actor.
Even though John Madden enjoyed a great coaching career in the NFL, he is arguably best recognized today for his actions after his playing days have come to an end. He rose to prominence as a commentator in the National Football League and then became the face of one of the most popular video game franchises of all time, “Madden NFL.”
John Madden was also a well-known writer, and he was featured in several advertisements for a variety of different companies. He was the world's first broadcaster to make a million dollars in a year. He was also one of the first artists to earn more than $1 million per year through sponsorships, making him one of the first in the business.
The “Madden” video game was responsible for the vast majority of Madden's $200 million in wealth. There's a lot more information about this bargain after this post…
Early Life
John Madden was born on April 10th, 1936, in Austin, Minnesota, to John and Mary Madden. To seek employment prospects, his father and family relocated to California, where his father found work as an auto mechanic.
The young John was still in his early twenties at the time, and he had spent the majority of his childhood growing up in a little village just south of San Francisco. Following his enrollment in a Catholic school, he went on to attend Jefferson High School.
During his high school years, John Madden swiftly rose through the ranks to become a standout player on the football team. John was a bright and versatile young athlete who showed potential in both the offensive and defensive positions throughout his time at the University of Florida. He has also proven himself to be a skilled baseball player.
College Football
The next year, when John Madden graduated from high school in 1954, he immediately began playing football at the University of San Mateo. After one season, he transferred to the University of Oregon, where he studied pre-law while also participating on the football team.
Madden suffered the first of two significant injuries that would end his playing career during his time at Oregon. He was forced to miss most of the season due to a knee procedure.
After recovering from his first injury, John Madden returned to his hometown of San Mateo and competed in another football season there. Next, he attended California Polytechnic State University, where he was a two-year starter on offense and defense for the Mustangs.
Madden established his value as a football player once more, this time by establishing himself as a tough offensive lineman and earning first-team all-conference recognition. He also played catcher for the college's baseball team while pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Education. He went on to obtain his Master of Arts in Education from the same institution in 1961.
Professional Football
Although John Madden did play professional football at one time in his career, it was effectively finished before it had ever started. Madden was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 21st round of the 1958 NFL Draft, and it appeared for a while that he would be making his professional football debut.
But calamity occurred during his very first training camp, which was the last of him. The injury to his knee (not the one that had already been hurt) ended his professional career, and that was the end of that.
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Coaching Career
While John Madden was recuperating from his knee injuries, he continued his education and received his teaching degrees at a local community college. He was also meeting with Norm Van Brocklin, who was nearing the end of his professional career at the time.
The former quarterback demonstrated football games using Madden video games and described what was going on in each play. As Madden gained more knowledge of teaching, his teaching expertise began to blend with his football knowledge. Coaching seemed to be the obvious progression from there.
When Madden arrived at Allan Hancock College in 1960, he was serving as an assistant coach for the team. Two years later, he was promoted to the position of head coach. San Diego State then hired him as an assistant defensive coach, a position he held until 1966 when the squad was among the best in the country.
During this time, he worked under the tutelage of tactical genius Don Coryell, whom Madden subsequently credited with helping him achieve success as a coach in the NFL.
The Oakland Raiders hired John Madden as their linebackers coach in 1967, and he has been with the team ever since. Madden received his instruction from head coach Al Davis, who had received his instruction from Sid Gillman.
In other words, Madden was inadvertently adopting football strategies from a man who was responsible for the modernization of the sport. By 1969, Davis had departed the team, leaving Madden, who was just 32 years old at the time, to take over as head coach. In doing so, John Madden became the youngest head coach in the history of the National Football League.
Many people believe that John Madden is the greatest Raiders coach of all time. Having said that, the squad continued to have a reputation for losing close games from 1969 through 1975.
That all changed in 1976 when the Steelers defeated their long-time rivals, the Ravens, to win the AFC Championship and claim their first Super Bowl triumph. The next year, they defeated the Minnesota Vikings in the Super Bowl to claim their first championship. When it became evident that coaching was hurting John Madden's health, he announced his retirement in 1979.
Television Career
Following his retirement from coaching, John Madden embarked on a long and distinguished career as a colour commentator and analyst for sports networks. He went on to work for all four major networks, including Fox, CBS, ABC, and NBC, during his career.
In the end, he rose to become one of the most sought-after television personalities in American sport, earning a multi-million-dollar salary as a result. For example, to convince Madden to join their network, NBC promised to construct him a “luxury train” (John Madden is famously averse to flying).
Video Game Deal
According to Forbes, John Madden was making $8 million per year at the height of his broadcasting career, which is the equivalent of almost $14 million now after correcting for inflation.
However, even with a lucrative salary, Madden's years of coaching and commentating have been overshadowed by his participation in video games. In truth, the video game series that bears John Madden's name is responsible for the largest bulk of his riches.
Since 1988, Electronic Arts has been releasing video games based on the National Football League that include his likeness and name. It has been an enormous commercial success for the series since its inception, having sold more than 130 million copies worldwide to date.
After signing a $300 million agreement with the NFL in 2005, the video game firm EA Sports was able to focus only on developing video games. A rumor began to circulate at the same time that EA was considering removing the term “Madden” from all future Madden games.
As a result of this revelation, it was discovered that John Madden had entered into an agreement that would allow for his face and name to be used in the games in perpetuity in exchange for an estimated $150 million. In addition, it is reported that John Madden received over $2 million per year as a retainer until he retired in 2009.
Endorsement Deals
In the 1980s, John Madden became one of the first celebrities to make more than $1 million per year through endorsements, becoming the first athlete to do so. Miller Lite, Exxon, McDonald's, Canon, and Ramada Inn were among the companies that signed endorsement arrangements with him throughout the 1980s.
His endorsement arrangement with Tenactin is likely the most well-known thing about him now. He made $2 million a year from his deal with Tenactin alone during his heyday in the 2000s.
At some point in his career, Madden signed endorsement arrangements with companies such as Ace Hardware, Outback Steakhouse, Verizon Wireless, Miller Lite, Toyota, and other similar businesses.
