The NFL Player That Made $150M+ Without Ever Playing In An NFL Game

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Friends,

After dominating the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 31-9 in Super Bowl LV — taking home a record 7th Super Bowl Championship — Tom Brady didn’t end up passing the torch to Patrick Mahomes as many had imagined.

But now, less than six months after squaring off on the game’s biggest stage, the two NFL superstars — Mahomes at 25-years-old & Brady at 43-years-old — will share the cover of Madden NFL 22.

Even more interesting? The (short) story of how one man became the most recognizable name in the history of football without ever actually playing in an NFL game.

John Madden was born in Minnesota to a blue-collar family — his father was an auto mechanic — but when he was young, the family moved West, settling just south of San Francisco, California.

Madden was an incredible athlete in high school, excelling at football, basketball, and baseball. But when it came time for college, he couldn’t narrow down his passion for one sport. Instead, he bounced around.

From 1954 to 1958, John Madden attended multiple colleges — College of San Mateo, University of Oregon, Grays Harbor College, and Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo — and played multiple sports, earning all-conference honors at both football (offensive tackle) and baseball (catcher) his senior year.

In 1958, John Madden was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 21st round (244th overall) of the NFL draft.

Remember, the NFL draft used to have 30 rounds, where 360 selections were made over a two-day period at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia.

The bad news? During his first preseason training camp, John Madden injured his knee, ending his NFL career before it even got started.

But rather than leave the sport he loved behind; Madden decided to pivot — using his degree in education to land an assistant coaching job at little-known Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California.

Using the same attention to detail that helped him get drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1958, John Madden quickly rose the coaching ranks. Within two years, he was promoted to head coach at Allan Hancock College. The year after that, he was hired as an assistant coach at San Diego State, and after only four years in San Diego, Al Davis hired Madden as linebackers coach for the Oakland Raiders.

The craziest part: Just nine years after starting his coaching journey, John Madden was named head coach of the Oakland Raiders, becoming the youngest head coach in NFL history at 32-years-old.

Rather than spend all day discussing John Madden’s legendary coaching career, here are the highlights.

• 103-32-7 record

• Super Bowl XI Champion

• .763 winning percentage (2nd best all-time)

The interesting part? Citing occupational burnout, John Madden retired from coaching in 1978 — accepting a position as an NFL commentator one year later.

Madden loved commentating, and he was good at it, but that’s not what he’s known for. His big break came when EA Sports approached him with an idea in 1982.

After being turned down by Joe Montana, EA Sports came to John Madden with the idea of creating a video game. Skeptical at first, Madden eventually agreed when EA Sports pitched it as a way to educate fans on the intricacies of professional football (formations, plays, techniques, etc.).

But there was just one problem; John Madden is a perfectionist. EA Sports spent years working on a prototype, only to have Madden shut it down immediately. Upset it was 7v7 football and didn’t integrate his NFL playbook, Madden made them start over.

But seven years, and many revisions later, “John Madden Football” was officially released in 1988.

Since its release in 1988, the "Madden" franchise has produced 30+ additional video games and has sold over 130 million copies — generating an estimated $4 billion in revenue.

The best part? In 2005, John Madden agreed to license his name and likeness in perpetuity for a reported $150 million & ~$5 million in annual endorsement fees.

In the end, I love this story for one simple reason. John Madden is one of the greatest coaches in NFL history, yet it’s estimated that less than 10% of his $400 million net worth came from coaching.

The point being: pursue your dreams with a relentless passion, but always be open to new opportunities.

I hope each of you has a great weekend. Talk to everyone on Monday.

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