Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Barry Sanders wins Madden vote
ESPN.com news services

"Old school" won out over "new school."

Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders beat out reigning NFL MVP Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings to land the coveted cover of "Madden NFL 25."

The vote, which came down to perhaps the most elusive running back in NFL history against the powerful and speedy Peterson, was announced Wednesday night on "SportsNation" on ESPN2.

With 58 percent of the final vote, Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders beat Adrian Peterson for the honor of appearing on "Madden 25."

Sanders won by garnering 58 percent of the more than 700,000 votes cast on the final matchup. There were 40 million votes tallied throughout the entire competition.

"Congrats to my guy Barry Sanders for winning the 2013 Madden Cover! Any other guy to take me down... it would've been a problem! Salute," Peterson wrote on Twitter.

This year marks the 25th edition of the ultra-popular video game. The final vote was reflective of EA Sports' celebration of legends and current players.

Sanders' march to the cover in voting included wins over newly retired Ray Lewis and fellow Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Jerry Rice.

The victory also made it back-to-back Detroit Lions on the cover after wide receiver Calvin Johnson won last year. Johnson snapped the stigma of the "Madden Curse" in 2012, breaking Rice's NFL single-season receiving yards mark.

Sanders, 44, spent his entire 10-year career with the Lions, rushing for 15,269 yards and 99 touchdowns before stunningly walking away after the 1998 season.

Sanders and Peterson are linked, as each rushed for more than 2,000 yards in a season. Sanders rushed for 2,053 yards in 1997 while Peterson just missed breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season mark last season, running for 2,097 yards.

Other players to have appeared on the cover of the video game include Marshall Faulk, Michael Vick, Ray Lewis, Brett Favre and Drew Brees.