John Madden Retires From Broadcasting

NBC Sports
Chairman Dick Ebersol announced today that John Madden, Hall of Fame coach and
the most honored broadcaster in sports television history, has decided to retire
from broadcasting.

Madden
issued the following statement:
“It’s time.
I’m 73 years old. My 50th wedding anniversary is this fall. I have two great
sons and their families and my five grandchildren are at an age now when they
know when I’m home and, more importantly, when I’m not…
“It’s been
such a great ride… the NFL has been my life for more than 40 years, it has
been my passion — it still is. I appreciate all of the people who are and were
such an important part of the most enjoyable, most fun anyone could have…
that great life with the teams, the players, the coaches, the owners, the
League… my broadcasting partners Pat and Al… the production people and the fans…is
still great… it’s still fun and that’s what it makes it hard and that’s why
it took me a few months to make a decision.
“I still
love every part of it — the travel, the practices, the game film, the games,
seeing old friends and meeting new people… but I know this is the right time.”
John Madden
has served as the game analyst for “NBC Sunday Night Football” since
2006. Madden, who has won an unprecedented 16 Emmy Awards for Outstanding
Sports Analyst/Personality, is renowned by football fans nationwide for his
ability to analyze the details of the game with wit, candor and an inimitable
style. Madden has been an NFL broadcaster
for 30 years. On February 1, Madden earned rave reviews and critical acclaim in
his final game, the 11th Super Bowl he called — Super Bowl XLIII on NBC. Succeeding Madden on “Sunday Night Football,” effective immediately, will be Chris Collinsworth. “Chris will step into the role with Al [Michales] immediately,” Ebersol said. “I’ll sit down with the folks here and we will redesign the other show, ‘Football Night in America.'”

The
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has honored Madden with 16
Outstanding Sports Analyst/Personality Emmy Awards, the most recent from this
past season. In all, Madden has been
nominated for 18 Emmy Awards. In addition, the American Sportscasters Association
named him Sports Personality of the Year in 1985 and 1992. In 1982, Madden
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.”
Prior to
joining the broadcasting ranks, Madden had an outstanding career as head coach
of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders. He 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. Madden’s .750 winning percentage
is the best of any head coach in NFL history. In 2006, Madden was inducted into
the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a Head Coach.
A
linebacker coach when he began his NFL coaching career with Oakland in 1967, Madden became the head coach
in 1969 at age 33, the youngest head coach in the American Football League.
Madden retired in 1979 and started his broadcasting career at CBS later that
same year. Madden was the lead NFL
analyst for FOX from 1994-2002 and the analyst for ABC’s “Monday Night
Football” for four years before he came to NBC Sports in 2006. He is the
only person to work as the lead analyst for all four broadcast networks.
Madden’s EA
Sports video game “Madden NFL Football” is the No. 1 selling sports
video game of all-time with more than 65 million copies sold since its release
20 years ago. Madden is also one of the leading
spokesmen in the advertising world, with endorsement relationships including
Ace Hardware, Outback Steakhouse, Schering Plough (Tinactin), Verizon Wireless
and Sirius Satellite Radio.
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 Madden 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 was also 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 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.
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 and five grandchildren.