NFL Broadcaster John Madden Announces Retirement

John Madden, one of the NFL's most recognizable broadcast analysts for three decades, has finally decided to retire. Madden, also a former coach, worked for the past three seasons with NBC's "Sunday Night Football." His final telecast was the Super Bowl match-up between Arizona and Pittsburgh.

In a statement, Madden said:

"It's time. I'm 73 years old. My 50th wedding anniversary is this fall. I have two great sons and their families and their five grandchildren are at an age now when they know when I'm home and, more importantly, when I'm not."

Taking Madden's place will be Cris Collinsworth, who filled in for Madden when he took a game off last October.

Madden said that he still has a great love for all aspects of the game and his but, which is why it took him some months to come to the decision to retire. He has been reluctant to fly in recent years, and often traveled to games in a specially equipped bus. This also likely factored into his decision.

Madden began his career in pro football as a linebacker coach at Oakland in 1967. Two years later, at 33-years-old, he became the youngest coach in the American Football League. He led the Raiders to their first Super Bowl win, and retired in 1979. Later that year, he joined CBS, where he worked until 1994. CBS lost NFL broadcast rights in '94, so he switched to Fox. In 2002 he left fox for ABC's "Monday Night Football". Then, in 2006 he made his final move, switching to NBC for their prime-time Sunday games. Madden was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

His legend in sports history also now extends to the video game industry, where his "Madden NFL Football" game remains the top-selling sports video game of all time.

Madden's colleague, Al Michaels said in a statement:

"No one has made the sport more interesting, more relevant and more enjoyable to watch and listen to than John. There's never been anyone like him and he's been the gold standard for analysts for almost three decades."

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones also had a few words to say about Madden:

"I don't know that I've ever met anyone who loves the NFL, or cares about the NFL, more than John Madden. As a friend, I know that John's respect and passion for the sport will be the two elements of his legacy that matter the most to him. His imprint and impact on our game were powerful and meaningful. His influence on the sport was felt by everyone -- the guys in the equipment room, the players, the coaches, the owners, and most importantly, the fans.

"He's going out on top -- as the best we have -- and the best we have ever had."