Turducken!!: NFL Planning Annual John Madden Celebration On Thanksgiving Day

“There's no place that I would rather be today on Thanksgiving than right here, right now, at a football game. There are just certain things that go together; the Turkey, the Family, the Tradition, Football . . . And we have it all today." — John Madden

By Barry Janoff

November 11, 2022: Hall of Famer John Madden, who passed away last December, was as much a part of NFL Thanksgiving Day games as stuffing, gravy, the turkey and the Madden all-time favorite, Turducken.

With that in mind, the NFL today unveiled the "John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration," which the league said would be a “yearly, multi-faceted celebration of the late great icon's indelible legacy.”

The inaugural "John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration" is planned for Nov. 24.

During games that day, the NFL said CBS, Fox and NBC would create their own special broadcast tributes dedicated to Madden, who worked as a commentator and analyst for all three networks, as well as ABC for Monday Night Football.

A recording of Madden — who the NFL said called 20 Thanksgiving Day NFL games during his broadcasting career — discussing Thanksgiving and the holiday's special relationship to football will also serve as the lead-in to each of three games.

"No one cared more or contributed more to our game than John Madden," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said via the league.

"Honoring his memory and impact on the NFL is important and Thanksgiving Day brings all of the elements significant to John to life: family, football, food and fun."

For those who did not experience it in person, Madden’s devotion to Thanksgiving Day was an essential part of the Fox Sports documentary, All Madden, which premiered on Fox on Xmas Day 2021 just prior to his passing.

It including his awarding a turkey leg to the star player from each Thanksgiving Day game in which he was a commentator — beginning in 1989 with a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys when he gave an actual turkey leg to Philadelphia DE Reggie White.

It also highlighted his popularizing the Turducken (a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey) on-air beginning in 1996.

In a nod to the All-Madden Team, each network will select a "Madden Player of the Game" immediately after each game.

The selected player will receive a $10,000 donation in their name from the NFL Foundation to the youth or high school football program of their choice, as the topic of youth football was important to Madden, according to the NFL.

The inaugural "John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration" is also scheduled to feature:

• A special "John Madden Thanksgiving" logo will be placed at the 25-yard lines of each field and a sticker on the back of each player's helmet depicting the iconic image of Madden with his fist up in the air

• Madden and Thanksgiving-related programming to air throughout the week on all NFL Media platforms, and the NFL's radio broadcast partners Westwood One and SiriusXM NFL Radio

• EA Sports — creators of the Madden NFL video game series — will present "Game Before The Game," a Madden NFL 23 competition between two opposing players from Thanksgiving Day competing teams.

Tributes will be interspersed throughout the broadcast of each game: Buffalo Bills vs. Detroit Lions (CBS 12:30 PM ET), New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys (Fox 4:30 PM ET) and New England Patriots vs. Minnesota Vikings (NBC 8 PM ET ).

Photos: Fox Sports All Madden

RIP John Madden: ‘Football Is My Life’

All Madden: The Life And Times Of John Madden

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