John Madden Retiring From Announcing

John Madden’s last game as a football announcer was the 2009 Super Bowl which was decided in the final moments of the game. Madden worked at CBS until 1994 when the network lost rights to broadcast NFL games, leading him to switch to Fox. He left Fox in 2002 to become the lead analyst for ABC’s “Monday Night Football” and joined NBC in 2006 when that network inaugurated a prime-time Sunday game.

Madden said his health is fine, but at the age of 73, he wants to spend more time with his family. His 50th wedding anniversary is this year, and his five grandchildren are old enough to notice when he’s gone.

“The thing that made it hard is not because I’m second guessing: ‘Is it the right decision?’ But I enjoyed it so damn much,” Madden said. “I enjoyed the game and the players and the coaches and the film and the travel and everything.”