John Madden, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the most honored NFL broadcaster of all time, retired from television broadcasting in 2009 after 30 years calling games for every television network. Most recently Madden was the game analyst for “NBC’s Sunday Night Football.” Madden, who has won an unprecedented 16 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Sports Analyst/Personality, is known by football fans nationwide for his ability to analyze the details of the game with wit, candor and an inimitable style.
“John Madden was the best analyst in the history of the National Football League and, in my opinion, the best analyst of any kind in sports television history,” said Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. “John is much more than a football legend, he’s an American icon. He is the only sports television talent who resonates across all ages – kids grow up today playing his video game and watching him on TV, as their fathers grew up watching him on NFL sidelines every Sunday as the head coach with the best winning percentage in league history.”
In 2009, Madden called his 11th Super Bowl, Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Fla., on NBC.
Madden now serves as the Special Advisor to Commissioner Rodger Goodell of the National Football League. He advises the Commissioner on matters pertaining to the game, including competitive issues, coaching and personnel development, technological innovations, player safety and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has honored Madden with 16 Outstanding Sports Analyst/Personality Emmy Awards. In all, he has been nominated for 19 Emmy Awards. He also received the Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award in 2010. In addition, the American Sportscasters Association named Madden Sports Personality of the Year in 1985 and 1992. In 1982, he became the first NFL analyst to receive the Touchdown Club of America's prestigious Golden Mike Award. Sports Illustrated has called Madden “an American fixture” and said that he “brings an unequaled big-game buzz to the broadcast booth.” In 2010, the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association inducted him into their Hall of Fame.
Prior to joining the broadcasting ranks, Madden had an outstanding career as head coach of the NFL's Oakland Raiders. In 2006, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his distinguished coaching career. Madden guided the Raiders to an overall record of 103-32-7, leading the team to seven AFC Western Division titles and a victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI. His .750 winning percentage is the best of any head coach in NFL history.
A linebacker coach when he began his NFL coaching career with Oakland in 1967, Madden became head coach in 1969 at age 33, the youngest head coach in the American Football League. He retired in 1979 and started his broadcasting career at CBS in 1980. Madden also was the lead NFL analyst for Fox from 1994-2002, before joining ABC as the game analyst for “Monday Night Football” until 2005.
Before coaching in Oakland, Madden was the defensive coordinator at San Diego State from 1964-66 where the Aztecs were ranked first among small colleges with a 26-4 record. From 1960-64, he coached at Hancock Junior College in Santa Maria, Calif.
Madden started on both the offensive and defensive lines as a player for California Polytechnic College at San Luis Obispo in 1957 and 1958 and was voted to the All-Conference team. He also was a catcher on the school's baseball team. Madden earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1959 and a Master of Arts degree in 1961, both from Cal Poly. The Philadelphia Eagles selected him in the 21st round of the 1958 NFL draft, but a knee injury in his rookie season prematurely ended his career.
Madden’s EA Sports video game “Madden NFL Football” is the No. 1 selling sports video game of all-time with more than 60 million copies sold since its release in 1989. Madden also is one of the leading spokesmen in the advertising world, with endorsement relationships that include Ace Hardware, Schering Plough (Tinactin), Verizon Wireless and Sirius Satellite Radio.
Madden is the author of several New York Times best-selling books: Hey, Wait a Minute! (I Wrote a Book!); One Knee Equals Two Feet (and Everything Else You Need To Know About Football); One Size Doesn't Fit All; and All Madden, each written with New York Times sports columnist Dave Anderson. He has also written a cookbook titled John Madden’s Ultimate Tailgating. Madden’s most recent work is a children’s book titled John Madden’s Heroes of Football published by Penguin.
Born April 10, 1936 in Austin, Minn., Madden was raised in Daly City, Calif. He now resides in Pleasanton, Calif., with his wife, Virginia. The couple has two sons.
John Madden, legendary NFL broadcaster and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is available exclusively through IMG Speakers bureau for speaking engagements. John Madden is also available for celebrity appearances, corporate hospitality events, meet and greets, and much more. Please contact IMG Speakers at 212-774-6735 or speakers@imgworld.com for more information on booking John Madden.
