Trending

John Madden appearing on cover of Madden NFL 23 video game for first time since 2000

There is usually plenty of debate over who appears on the annual “Madden NFL” video game.

>> Read more trending news

Not this time.

The late John Madden will appear on the “Madden NFL 23″ cover, EA Sports announced in a news release.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and NFL broadcaster, who died on Dec. 28, 2021, at the age of 85, last appeared on the main cover of the popular game for the 2000 edition, which was released in 1999, ESPN reported. He appeared in a small box over the next few seasons before being replaced by current players for the cover beginning with “Madden NFL 06,” according to the sports network.

Madden was the focus for the inaugural cover of the game, called “John Madden Football,” and released on June 1, 1988, Sports Illustrated reported. This year’s edition will be released in August, and the late coach will appear on the cover of all three versions of the game, according to EA Sports.

“What better day to celebrate Coach Madden and his legendary career in sport and entertainment than the day he changed the gaming industry forever,” EA Sports said in a statement.

“We were thinking about this year’s game and who was going to go on it; it almost became an obvious answer,” Seann Graddy, the executive producer of Madden NFL, told ESPN. “I say that because we really wanted to celebrate Coach in the product this year and what he’s meant to us for the 30-plus years that we’ve been using his name in our game.”

The “Madden NFL” franchise has since sold more than 150 million copies, according to Sports Illustrated.

Philadelphia-based artist Chuck Styles designed the cover for the All-Madden edition, ESPN reported. The cover depicts a young Madden, holding a football and crashing through a paper full of X’s and O’s. The side of the cover has the statement, “Thanks, Coach,” according to ESPN.

“As someone who grew up loving football, playing in the suburbs of West Philly, it’s a full-circle moment to now be able to contribute to the culture of the sport by honoring an icon like John Madden, who has influenced generations of football fans through his passion for football and unmistakable energy, through my art,” Styles said in a statement.

The other two covers, which were not created by Styles, show Madden as a coach and broadcaster.

“The thing that we wanted everyone to take away is that we’re celebrating all three phases of Coach Madden’s kind of legacy,” Graddy told ESPN.

Madden coached for 10 seasons in the NFL, recording 103 wins with the Oakland Raiders. He had a .759 winning percentage and won Super Bowl XI after the 1976 season. He also won seven division titles.