NFL honoring John Madden on Thanksgiving 2024

John Madden will be honored in all three NFL games on Thanksgiving Day

Week 13 of the 2024 NFL season brings three Thanksgiving games to football fans. The first of the three games kicks off in Detroit, where the Lions will host the Chicago Bears in Detroit’s annual Thanksgiving Day game. The NFL action continues throughout the day with the Dallas Cowboys hosting the New York Giants in the afternoon, and the Green Bay Packers hosting the Miami Dolphins at Lambeau Field Thursday night.

As the league has done for the past two seasons, the NFL will honor John Madden in each of the three games.

The legendary coach-turned-broadcaster was synonymous with the holiday, from the turkey legs he would hand out to player who impressed him most during the game he was on the call for, to his love of turducken (a chicken stuffed into a deboned duck stuffed into a deboned turkey):

This year, all six teams will wear patches honoring Madden:

In addition, a special Madden coin — heads is a Madden silhouette, tails is a turducken — will be used for the coin toss at each game. There will also be tributes to the NFL legend on the broadcast, and on the field, for all three games.

Thursday night’s game between the Packers and the Dolphins will also feature the original “Madden Cruiser.” Known for his fear of flying, Madden traveled to games during his broadcasting days in a converted Greyhound bus. The original Madden Cruiser, which is on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, made a special trip to Green Bay for Thursday night’s game, and will be featured in the broadcast:

Furthermore, the MVP of each game will receive a Madden trophy and choose a high school or youth football program to receive a $10,000 donation from the NFL Foundation.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.