"Great tribute! Captures everything about him" - NFL fans react to legendary coach's return on Madden 23 cover

The cover for Madden 23 sees the return of the legendary former NFL coach, who lent his expertise and name to the game. John Madden, who passed away in December last year, was instrumental in the design of the best-selling NFL video game of all time.

It was a perfect tribute to a true legend of the sport who donned many hats, from a coach to a commentator and then to a game developer. Fans were quick to react to him being featured on the cover.

Some highlighted that it was a great tribute, especially the photograph that showed Madden at his happiest with a football in his arm.

Others commended how everything about it was awesome.

This user added to the tribute by sharing the original cover in which he appeared.

Some even said that since the game was named after him, he should have appeared in every edition but highlighting a different team or facet of play.

This user threw out the introduction of the original game where it showed him breaking through during the opening credits.

There were those who took the opportunity to pay their own tribute to the great coach in general.

Some however, veered towards cynicism and thought that it was just a cheap marketing ploy and not a real tribute to a true great of the game.

But the general tenor of the thoughts remained positive and respectful.

Some even put out a suggestion that maybe just for one final time, in his honor, commentaries could feature his voice again to immortalize it.

We left the final word to the simplest of responses that just claimed it was beautiful.

John Madden, the man who lent his name to a football game

John Madden was a true great of the game. Of all the coaches who have coached more than 100 games, he has the highest win percentage. As the coach of the Oakland Raiders, he led them to their first Super Bowl in Super Bowl XI.

His broadcasting career was also legendary in that he spoke the language of the fans and simplified concepts to make it more personal. He won 16 Sports Emmy awards during his career.

Finally, in 1988, he lent his creative inputs to the NFL video game to create the game we are all so familiar with now. It was the first realistic video game of a sport and influenced other similar video games.

The legacy he left behind in all three arenas continues to be felt even today.