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Madden "NFL Football" Game to Live On After Broadcaster Retires
Curtis Eichelberger
April 17, 2009
Bloomberg) -- John Madden’s video game may remain a top seller even after the Hall of Fame football coach and broadcaster of National Football League games announced his retirement yesterday.
Electronic Arts Inc. should continue selling 6 million copies of its “Madden NFL” video game each year, said Michael Pachter, who covers the video game industry for Wedbush Morgan Securities Inc. in Los Angeles.
The 73-year-old Madden, who sprinkled his color commentary with words like “Boom!” and “Doink,” will remain relevant as an endorser for several more years, Pachter said.
“The bloom won’t fall off the rose in a week,” Pachter said in an interview. “But the longer he’s out of the television spotlight, the less impact his endorsement of the game makes. There comes a point when you are no longer relevant.”
With more than 65 million copies sold since it was released 20 years ago, it is the best-selling sports video game. Featuring top players such Brett Favre and Donovan McNabb on its cover every year, “Madden NFL” was the only Electronic Arts game in the top 10 for all of 2008.
David Tinson, a spokesman for Electronic Arts in Redwood City, California, said the company’s agreement with Madden extends beyond five years. Tinson wouldn’t specify terms of the agreement.
“His retirement doesn’t change anything,” Tinson said in an interview. “It’s a long-term deal.”
Madden’s first video game out in 1989. Starting in 2006, he was replaced as “Madden NFL” color analyst by Cris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond, though Madden was still featured. Collinsworth has been tabbed by NBC Sports to replace Madden in the broadcast booth.
'Four Decades'
Madden’s “been in football for four decades, but an entire generation of people might not even know he was an NFL coach,” Tinson said. “For many, the association is with the game and that won’t change.”
Madden, who worked as a game analyst for “NBC Sunday Night Football” since 2006, has announced 11 Super Bowls and won 16 Emmy awards during his 30-year career announcing NFL games. His final game was February’s Super Bowl, where the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals.
Billy Pidgeon, a New York-based video game analyst for IDC, said that while Madden’s football and broadcast careers were essential to landing him the initial endorsement, the product transcends who John Madden is and what his importance was to the game.
‘The Franchise’
“He is the franchise, so there is some mindshare with consumers,” Pidgeon said in an interview. “People just know the game as Madden. The word is associated with the game title. It shouldn’t affect sales.”
Peter Moore, president of EA Sports, said in a statement that “it’s been a privilege for EA Sports to have had the strong relationship we’ve had with John for more than two decades and one that will continue into the future.”
The barrel-chested Madden relished the blue-collar toughness of players on the offensive and defensive lines. At the same time, he was well-known for his fear of flying. He refused to travel to games on airplanes and instead got around the country on his own customized bus, known as the Madden Cruiser.
He also wrote several best-selling books, including “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,” “All Madden” and a cookbook, “John Madden’s Ultimate Tailgating.”
'Oakland Raiders'
Madden compiled a 103-32-7 coaching record with the Oakland Raiders, including seven American Football Conference Western Division titles and a victory over the Minnesota Vikings in the Super Bowl after the 1976 season.
At 33, Madden became the youngest head football coach in American Football League history when he was promoted from linebackers coach to run the team in 1969.
He retired from football in 1979 and began his broadcasting career at CBS that year. Madden was the lead NFL analyst for Fox and then ABC before he joined NBC Sports in 2006. He is the only person to work as a lead analyst for all four broadcast networks, according to a NBC news release.
Madden was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a head coach in 2006.
His .750 winning percentage is the best of any coach in NFL history.
“It’s still fun and that’s what makes it hard and that’s why it took me a few months to make a decision,” Madden said. “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.”
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Will White stand Pat as NFL QB?
By Tommy Hicks
April 17, 2009
It seemed almost unanimous that Pat White should give up any thoughts of playing quarterback in the NFL, prepare to move to another position and try to make it as a professional football player.
That was the advice coming from almost everyone evaluating White's work at practices this week for the Senior Bowl.
If White is to have a future in the NFL, most have said, it will be as a wide receiver or kickoff/punt returner or slot back or all of the above. Rarely is it suggested he has a future in the NFL as a quarterback.
He's heard that talk before. When he was leading Daphne High to success, recruiters for several top college football programs wanted him to sign with their team, but most weren't interested in him playing quarterback. He was told he didn't have a future at that position on the college level.
It seemed the only people who truly believed he could play quarterback in college were White himself and the West Virginia coaching staff.
Now, when he is hearing the same words again, will White listen to the advice of others or will he listen to his heart and stick it out at QB?
The NFL is the ultimate cookie-cutter business. It's as though they have one of those amusement park cutout characters outside the league office with a sign that reads "If you're not this size, you can't go on this ride." For the most part, quarterbacks must be a certain size and have certain skills. At 6-foot, White doesn't fit the bill.
The same size issue can be true for running backs and defensive linemen, cornerbacks and tight ends.
Yet every once in a while, a Darren Sproles comes along and proves size doesn't matter as much as talent and determination. Will Pat White be another exception to the rule?
Many analysts said last week that White made a mistake at Senior Bowl practices by not taking some snaps at a different position to give scouts a look at his versatility. Reviews of his practices, for the most part, weren't encouraging.
Yet in Saturday night's game — which to be fair, isn't given as much credence by NFL coaches and scouts as the practice sessions — White earned most valuable player honors.
His statistics weren't staggering. He was 4-of-10 for 95 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown throw. He also carried three times for another 31 yards. But he was productive. And his team won.
Whether or not the game convinced an NFL team or two to give him a shot at quarterback remains to be seen. As one scout this week noted, it only takes one team believing in him at the position for him to get his shot.
In White's favor is the simple fact he proved his point on the college level.
West Virginia coach Bill Stewart called his star QB the biggest winner in college football. When the Mountaineers needed a big play, White usually made it.
Now, the next call is his. Make a position change or keep the faith at quarterback.
Decision time is rapidly approaching.
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