Madden NFL 25 Cover Vote Down to B. Sanders vs. J. Rice and A. Peterson vs. A. Foster

[Steve_OS]

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Hall of Famers and Perennial Pro Bowlers Face Off in Madden NFL 25 Cover Vote Semifinals

Barry Sanders, Jerry Rice, Adrian Peterson and Arian Foster Square Off, Voting Now Open at ESPN.com/MaddenVote

Today ESPN SportsNation announced the semifinal matchups in the Madden NFL 25 Cover Vote. Barry Sanders will take on Jerry Rice in the Old School bracket, while Adrian Peterson and Arian Foster will battle in the New School bracket. The winners of each bracket will advance to the finals, with the Madden NFL 25 cover athlete to be named live on SportsNation on Wed, April 25. Voting highlights from the quarterfinals include:

• 2.1 million votes this round, 37.1 million votes overall
  
• Adrian Peterson posted the largest margin of victory, taking 70% of the vote against Robert Griffin III
  
• Arian Foster had the slimmest margin of victory, defeating Russell Wilson 52% to 48%

Both Rice and Sanders have been steamrolling the competition thus far in the Old School bracket, and the two have seemed destined for a collision course since the early rounds. Now it’s up to the fans to decide how the greatest receiver of all-time stacks up against arguably the most electrifying running back to ever lace up a pair of cleats. The New School bracket is dominated by running backs, and will pit Adrian Peterson’s power against Arian Foster’s elusiveness for a shot at the big prize.

We’re only one round from the finale, and fans are invited to cast their votes at ESPN.com/MaddenVote through their PC or mobile devices. For the chance to “Maximize” votes, ESPN and Madden NFL 25 have collaborated with Pepsi MAX to promote Twitter live voting every Tuesday throughout the Madden Cover Vote campaign, where tweets with each player’s respective Cover Vote hashtag will count as two votes. Double votes ends at midnight ET each Tuesday.

[Trick13]

I think it is interesting that despite the NFL being a "pass happy" league, 3 of the top 4 guys are RBs.
I didn't follow the brackets because I think the cover vote thing is superfluous. So was the bracket RB heavy?

[MaddenSaints]

I do not want another lion on the cover of madden so my vote goes to rice and Peterson. I do not want a legend on the cover neither, I want someone who is actually playing in the NFL.

[Mauer4MVP]

So Peterson is a lock for the title game. I don't think anybody deserves it more than him.

[Nexgenrulz]

Why is Barry Sanders in the running? Last time I checked Emmitt Smith is the NFL's all time leading rusher. I guess 18,355 yards, 3 Super Bowl rings, league MVP & Super Bowl MVP isn't enough to get a mention for the cover of Madden. Proving once again that Madden doesn't represent the game of football.

[JaymeeAwesome]

Quote: Originally Posted by Nexgenrulz

Why is Barry Sanders in the running? Last time I checked Emmitt Smith is the NFL's all time leading rusher. I guess 18,355 yards, 3 Super Bowl rings, league MVP & Super Bowl MVP isn't enough to get a mention for the cover of Madden. Proving once again that Madden doesn't represent the game of football.

Sounds like homer talk. Do you not understand that if Barry Sanders played the same amount of games that emmitt smith did, that Smith wouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence?

[sparkdawg777]

Not only that but emmitt smith played with arguably one of the best cowboy teams of all time.

I really hope Peterson wins after that comeback season.

[daniel77733]

As much as I would love to see Rice (im a 49ers fan) on the cover, I do prefer a CURRENT NFL player as opposed to a Legend. And to be honest, I dont think that Madden (or any football game for that matter) should have legends in it because whats the point? Its not like you're going to get full 53 player rosters on all 32 teams from the past. I personally think that the time devoted to any Legends stuff would be far better suited on the actual game, current players (faces/skin tones), fixing/solving the problems, etc.

Anyway, Adrian Peterson should be on the cover. He IS the Vikings period.