John Madden Added as Playable Character for 1st Time Ever in Update to Madden NFL 23

After having his name and voice featured in the most prominent NFL video game series for more than 30 years, John Madden is going to be a playable character for the first time ever.

EA Sports announced Thursday that the Hall-of-Fame announcer is being added to Madden NFL 23 as a playable character.

Madden never had the opportunity to play in an NFL game because of injuries. He was a 21st-round draft pick as an offensive tackle by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1958 even before beginning his senior season at Long Beach State.

After a knee injury during his first training camp with the Eagles forced Madden to retire, he moved into the coaching ranks. His first job in the NFL was as the Oakland Raiders' linebackers coach in 1967.

The Raiders promoted Madden to head coach before the 1969 season. He went 103-32-7 and won one Super Bowl in 10 seasons before retiring.

Madden moved into broadcasting and spent 40 seasons working on television from 1979 to 2008. He gave his name, voice and creative expertise to a video game franchise from Electronic Arts titled John Madden Football in 1988.

There have been a total of 37 games released in the main series, plus multiple arcade versions and a mobile version.

Madden graced the cover of the video game a total of 13 times, including for Madden NFL 23 as a tribute following his death at the age of 85 in December 2021.