NFL to honor John Madden with Thanksgiving celebration

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

NFL to honor John Madden with annual Thanksgiving celebration

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 11/12/22

The NFL is honoring football icon John Madden this Thanksgiving with the inaugural John Madden Thanksgiving celebration.

Madden was synonymous with football and Thanksgiving, usually honoring the player of the game during his broadcasts with turkey legs from his famous turduckens.

Madden died last December at the age of 85.

Now the NFL will celebrate his legacy every year on one of its biggest days.

Some of the things scheduled for this year's celebration include a special John Madden Thanksgiving logo that will be placed at the 25-yard line of each game; tributes during each game aired on CBS, Fox and NBC; and the Madden Player Of The Game will receive $10,000 to donate to the youth or high school football program of their choice.

This year's Thanksgiving schedule includes the Buffalo Bills visiting the Detroit Lions, a massive NFC East game between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys and the night game that features the New England Patriots and the Minnesota Vikings.

More from the NFL on the Madden celebration here.

Boom. NFL to honor one of the greatest men in the league on one of the greatest days of the year. pic.twitter.com/84A8EoCvxo
— Brian McCarthy (@NFLprguy) November 11, 2022

Madden is one of the most iconic and most important figures in the history of the NFL.

Along with being one of the league's all-time greatest coaches for the Oakland Raiders, he was also a legendary broadcaster and helped further drive the league's popularity by licensing his name and likeness to the EA Sports "Madden" video-game franchise.

When it comes to the most important people in making the NFL into what it currently is, Madden has to be near the top. So it is only fitting he gets an entire day to be honored by the league.

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