It’s been a while since John Madden has appeared as a commentator in the franchise sporting his name, but as GamesRadar points out in a recent article, he’s still contributing to the game at 80 years old.
According to the article, Madden helped in the team’s decision to rework special plays for Madden 17. In an interview with GamesRadar+, executive producer Seann Graddy spoke about how his input still helps to determine the course of the game.
“Last year, we got a call from John Madden himself where he said, ‘guys, the PAT is under review, it’s going to be a 33-yard kick now,’” executive producer Seann Graddy told GamesRadar+ during a behind-the-scenes tour of developer Tiburon. “And it’s going to change the game. The knock-on effect it that we knew we had to change the kick mechanic this year to make it more of a challenge, just like in the real NFL.”
There’s a similar story behind some of the changes in Madden 16. Graddy tells the story, “Last year we showed up [to a meeting with Madden] and said, we’re adding new catch types, and one of the catch types we’re adding is called ‘YAC’. He’s like, ‘what’s a YAC?’ And we reply,’ it stands for ‘Yards After Catch’. And he says, “no, it’s a RAC – Run After Catch. And I know this because I’m the one who coined it on broadcast TV!” So we ultimately changed that terminology based on what he said.”
It’s interesting to know that even after retirement, John Madden still remains somewhat of an authority on the massive franchise bearing his name. I guess it’s fitting, given his prestigious career!