John Madden, an NFL legend whose career spanned both coaching and broadcasting, died on Tuesday at age 85. Madden led the Oakland Raiders to a Super Bowl title in 1976 highlighting a decade of winning seasons before becoming one of the NFL’s best-known broadcasters and a video game entrepreneur. His legend will be further extended by the video game franchise that bears his name: Madden NFL.
Tributes are coming in from people from throughout the sports world of course, but also from celebrities in the entertainment world — confirming his influential presence to all who knew him personally or merely enjoyed and followed his illustrious career. That includes famed actor Adam Sandler, who portrayed football legend-of-sorts Bobby Boucher in 1998’s The Waterboy, who posted a tribute to John Madden on his Instagram account Tuesday evening.
Sandler captioned an image of Madden reveling in Super Bowl victory, “Loved this man. Loved him as a coach and as a broadcaster. We all did. Love to his family and thanks for all coach.”
Many are saddened by the loss of this NFL legend who excelled on the sideline and in the broadcasting booth, but he’ll live on forever in memories shared by family, friends and fans alike.
