Legendary NFL coach, broadcaster and video game icon, John Madden, passed away at age 85

The man known as John Madden was a Hall of Fame NFL coach who led the Oakland Raiders to its first Super Bowl title back in 1977. John has never had a losing record in ten full season coaching and became the youngest coach to reach 100 career regular-season victories. To this day, John holds the most wins in Raiders coaching history.

After retiring from coaching at age 42, John became most known for his commentary in the booth. Recognised for his unpretentious style and witty remarks, John worked as a colour analyst for all four major networks: CBS (1979–1993), Fox (1994–2001), ABC (2002–2005), and NBC (2006–2008). After retiring from broadcasting in 2008, John continued to write sportsbooks.

In 1988, EA Tiburon from EA Sports developed an American football video game and named it after the Hall of Fame coach. The Madden NFL video game series has gotten more popular by the year and touches demographics from young to old. As of 2013, the franchise has generated over $4 billion in sales.

On Tuesday morning, John Earl Madden passed away at age 85. The league said he died unexpectedly and did not give a cause. “Nobody loved football more than Coach”, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.

John Madden won sixteen Emmy Awards and covered eleven Super Bowls from 1979 to 2009. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. He was an NFL and American treasure and will be missed.