This forgotten video game helped pave the way for Madden NFL
"While we did not end up completing the game for legal reasons, the work we did under contract with EA, using Gridiron's underlying engine and game-system technology, heavily influenced the early Madden series and paved the way for what it is today," Christopher Weaver, the Bethesda Softworks founder, explained in Gamers at Work: Stories Behind the Games People Play."