Unlike future Madden games, this version does not feature season play.

He eventually approached John Madden two years later and the company hatched out an agreement.

[7] One sticking point for Madden was that 11 players had to be on each team, which was difficult due to technical limitations.

At the time among the company the title became known as "Trip's Folly", with both employees of EA as well as Madden assuming that the game would be cancelled.

[7] Computer Gaming World reviewed John Madden Football favorably for providing both a simple "Quick Mode" of arcade-like play, and a deeper "Standard Game" with detailed player statistics and user-created plays.