John Madden believed Thanksgiving is about family, football, food, tradition and fun.
And the turducken, of course.
The NFL will celebrate his legacy for a second annual John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration during its tripleheader on Thursday.
Madden, the legendary NFL coach turned broadcaster and video game pioneer, called 20 Thanksgiving games during his career, where his turducken (a deboned turkey, stuffed with a deboned duck, stuffed with a chicken) became a holiday delicacy.
The Detroit Lions host the Green Bay Packers at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX. The Dallas Cowboys host the Washington Commanders at 4:30 p.m. ET on CBS. And the San Francisco 49ers visit the Seattle Seahawks at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC.
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The NFL will honor Madden throughout Thanksgiving Day with:
∎Tributes to Madden for his contributions to the sport in each game, in the broadcast booth and on the field.
∎A “Madden Hallmark’ will kick off each broadcast, conveying what Thanksgiving meant to Madden in his own words.
∎A patch featuring a silhouette of Madden will be included on the jersey of each player at all three games.
∎A coin featuring a silhouette of Madden on one side (heads) and a six-legged turducken on the reverse side (tails) will be used for the coin toss.
∎“John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration’ stencils will be placed at the sidelines in Detroit’s Ford Field, Dallas’ AT&T Stadium and Seattle’s Lumen Field.
∎A player of the game in each game will receive a $10,000 donation from the NFL Foundation to be given to a high school or youth football program in their name, because youth football was important to Madden.
∎NFL fans will also be able to see “John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration’ content on social media sites like X, Snapchat, TikTok, Reddit and YouTube.
Madden once said: “There’s no place that I would rather be today on Thanksgiving than right here, right now, at a football game.”
And his legacy will shine the most during postgame interviews where players from the winning team will likely dig into a turkey leg before heading back into the locker room.
‘It’s great to be a part of it and reflect on how much my dad was a part of all these Thanksgivings with so many Americans that want to watch football,” his son Joe Madden, told USA TODAY Sports last year.
John Madden’s relationship with Darryl Stingley to be examined in halftime feature on NBC
The unique relationship between Madden and former New England Patriots wide receiver Darryl Stingley will be highlighted in a feature airing at halftime of the 49ers-Seahawks game on Thanksgiving night on NBC and Peacock.
Stingley suffered a paralyzing injury in a preseason game on Aug. 12, 1978 in Oakland against the Raiders, who at the time were coached by Madden. In the months following the injury, Madden regularly visited Stingley in the hospital, and formed a friendship with Stingley and his family.
The feature will be narrated by Emmy Award-winning actor Sterling K. Brown.
