Week 12 is here, and so is Thanksgiving. Just like every year, there will be three more NFL games for everyone to watch while eating Thanksgiving lunch and dinner.
On the agenda this year is the Green Bay Packers at the Detroit Lions (12:30 p.m. ET, FOX), the Washington Commanders at the Dallas Cowboys (4:30 p.m., CBS), and the San Francisco 49ers at the Seattle Seahawks (8:20 p.m., NBC).
This year, however, each jersey will have something special on it: John Madden jersey patches.
What Are the Special Patches Being Worn On Thanksgiving?
The NFL playing on Thanksgiving dates all the way back to 1934 and has continued every year since. Two years later, though, legendary coach and announcer John Madden was born. He became synonymous with the NFL on Thanksgiving.
Sadly, Madden passed away in 2021. Since then, the NFL has decided to honor him every season with the annual “John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration.” One of the parts of this year’s honoring is special patches on each jersey, donning Madden’s silhouette.
All teams playing on Thanksgiving Day this year will wear a John Madden jersey patch. Here is ours!#GBvsDET | #OnePride pic.twitter.com/xRrR2iu8n0
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) November 22, 2023
All six teams that take the field on Thursday will wear the patch on their jerseys — the Lions will be wearing theirs over throwbacks.
Madden’s Thanksgiving legacy extends to his love for the food. He was known for giving out turkey legs to the players of the game and would even bring out artificially attached six- or eight-legged turkeys.
He was also known for popularizing the hybrid turkey-duck-chicken, called a turducken. He once even showed the audience how you’re supposed to cut it.
Prior to being an announcer, Madden’s legacy was created as a coach. He was the then-Oakland Raiders head coach from 1969 to 1978, where he won Super Bowl XI. He also won an AFL Championship in 1967. His regular-season record was 103-32-7, and he went 9-7 in the postseason.
His television career began in 1979 and went all the way into 2008, when he retired from NBC Sports. He called his final game on Feb. 1, 2009, for Super Bowl XLIII between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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