John Madden’s son recalls telling football legend that his game is “crap”

John Madden was first known for dominating in his head coaching tenure with the Oakland Raiders. Then, after coaching, he was known for dominating in the broadcast booth. In 2024, more than anything, he is known as the name of one of the most profitable video game franchises.

Of course, with so many players playing the game, many have called the various Madden games names in frustration, including one of the game's first players. Speaking on Tuesday's edition of "Good Morning Football," Madden's son Mike recalled giving a less than stellar review of the game to his father back in 1989.

"I ran into my dad like five minutes after I quit. He says, 'Did you try the game? Did you try it out?' And I go, 'Yeah and dad, your game is crap.' He goes, and he was heartbroken. He goes, 'What do you mean?'" Mike said [00:08:52].

"I go, 'I've played all these games and I put them in a prevent and I ran a toss to the left' and he goes, 'you know, you can't run a toss the left against the prevent.' He goes, 'You got Charles Haley up there. He's going to run back there. ... The game ain't crap. You're crap," he added. [00:09:25]

Of course, since then, generations of frustrated fans have proceeded to pick the game apart. Some have picked out animations that didn't line up. Others have complained about the stale commentary for most of the last decade. More have complained about the quality of the character models. Still, the game sells like hotcakes, keeping fans just satisfied enough to keep coming back.

As such, the late Oakland Raiders coach's name continues to live on.

Madden NFL 25 maintains market dominance

CFP National Championship players play football video game - Alabama Media Day - Source: Getty

The football video game series might be older than the Dallas Cowboys' Super Bowl drought, but the series continues to remain relevant even roughly 35 years since its first iteration.

This year's version of the game ranked first in video game sales by dollar sales in August. In September, it remained a top-three game in the sales charts, per Statista. The series has been a top seller every year for decades, and that doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon.

The series has been around so long that this is the second iteration with the name of Madden 25. The previous game with the same name came out a decade ago and was named as such to celebrate the series' 25th anniversary. Since then, Tom Brady has won a Super Bowl with another team.

Peyton Manning has also accomplished the feat. However, both quarterbacks no longer are in the league, but Madden lives on.

If any of the above quotes are used, credit "Good Morning Football" and H/T Sportskeeda.