--- title: Football legend John Madden’s legacy in tech - The Hustle description: For those of us who will never play professional football, Madden helped make the next best thing. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/2144071735-News-Brief_2021-12-29T234932.028Z.webp --- # Football legend John Madden’s legacy in tech ![Jacob Cohen](https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/IMG_5670-1-modified-768x768.png?width=48&height=48&name=IMG_5670-1-modified-768x768.png) [Jacob Cohen](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/jacob-cohen) [Jacob Cohen Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/ImJacobCohen) Published: December 30, 2021 Updated: October 11, 2023 *Boom! (Source: Focus On Sport via Getty Images)* ![Football legend John Madden’s legacy in tech](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/2144071735-News-Brief_2021-12-29T234932.028Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=2144071735-News-Brief_2021-12-29T234932.028Z.webp) For the millions who love but will never play professional football, John Madden — who sadly passed away Tuesday at 85 — helped build the next best thing. “John Madden Football” was [developed](http://www.espn.com/espn/eticket/story?page=100805/madden&irclickid=UKFUYg3ubxyIUoQ0wPQKZWq2UkG1R9yvPQ0SQ40&irgwc=1&ex_cid=DSS-Affiliate-Impact-Content-New%20York%20Post%20Network-531512&cid=DSS-Affiliate-Impact-Content-New%20York%20Post%20Network-531512) by Electronic Arts in 1988. EA’s creator, Trip Hawkins, was known as “junior Steve Jobs” and was Employee No. 68 at a small startup called Apple Computer. #### **EA needed a football consultant…** … and Madden — a Super Bowl-winning NFL coach and Emmy-winning broadcaster — was actually the company’s 3rd choice (Joe Montana was the 1st, but he had a deal with Atari). Madden saw the game’s potential to be used as a tool to learn football, so he signed on. After a late-1980s launch, Hawkins offered Madden the chance to buy EA stock — pre IPO. But Madden turned him down. #### **Oops** “That was the dumbest thing I ever did in my life,” Madden said. Today, EA has a market cap of **$37.6B **and the Madden franchise has sold [130m+](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180813005649/en/Fans-Are-Going-Mad-for-Madden-EA-SPORTS-Madden-NFL-Franchise-Passes-130-Million-Copies-Sold) games. Madden’s impact on NFL players and fans is remarkable. In 2020, the NFL and its players’ union signed a $1.5B deal with EA, [$500m](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2893853-nfl-ea-sports-announce-15b-multiyear-contract-renewal-for-madden-nfl-games) of which will go to players. And as for fans, they’re just [hoping](https://twitter.com/EASPORTS/status/1476007230902353921) EA will honor Madden properly. 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