John Madden announces retirement

Legendary US sports broadcaster John Madden has announced that he is to retire from TV commentating, but publisher EA has insisted that it doesn’t mean the end of their long-running relationship between Madden and its NFL games franchise.

As you can imagine, we’ve had dozens of questions today about what impact John’s retirement from NBC will have on EA Sports,” Peter Moore stated on his blog.

I’m pleased that we continue our strong relationship with John and will continue to produce new versions Madden NFL football with his collaboration, including this August with Madden NFL 10.”

It’s not uncommon for publishers to stay loyal to established front men even after the person in question has faded from the limelight. Tony Hawk is arguably far better known as a digital avatar than a skateboarder, and Codemasters has stuck with the Colin McRae name despite the tragic death of the Scottish rally legend.