EA Sports and ESPN announced that they will bring back the bracket-style cover athlete fan vote tournament for the "Madden NFL 13" video game. This year's promotion will see the field of possible cover athletes expanded to 64 NFL players (two from each team), with 32 advancing to the official 32-player seeded tournament. ESPN will unveil the 32-man bracket on March 21 in a "Madden Cover Vote Special," with ESPN2's "SportsNation" providing updates and eliminations every Wednesday from March 21-April 25 (EA Sports/ESPN).
| AFC |
| Ravens | Terrell Suggs-Ray Rice | Jets | Mark Sanchez-Darrelle Revis |
| Steelers | Troy Polamalu-Ben Roethlisberger | Bills | Stevie Johnson-Ryan Fitzpatrick |
| Browns | Joe Thomas-Joe Haden | Dolphins | Reggie Bush-Brandon Marshall |
| Bengals | Andy Dalton-A.J. Green | Patriots | Wes Welker-Rob Gronkowski |
| Texans | Arian Foster-Andre Johnson | Chargers | Phillip Rivers-Antonio Gates |
| Colts | Dwight Freeney-Robert Mathis | Broncos | Tim Tebow-Von Miller |
| Jaguars | Maurice Jones-Drew-Blaine Gabbert | Chiefs | Dwayne Bowe-Derrick Johnson |
| Titans | Jake Locker-Chris Johnson | Raiders | Sebastian Janikowski-Shane Lechler |
| NFC |
| Bears | Jay Cutler-Matt Forte | Rams | Chris Long-Brandon Lloyd |
| Lions | Calvin Johnson-Matthew Stafford | 49ers | Vernon Davis-Patrick Willis |
| Vikings | Percy Harvin-Jared Allen | Seahawks | Marshawn Lynch-Earl Thomas |
| Packers | Aaron Rodgers-Clay Matthews | Cardinals | Larry Fitzgerald-Patrick Peterson |
| Falcons | Matt Ryan-Julio Jones | Eagles | Michael Vick-LeSean McCoy |
| Saints | Drew Brees-Jimmy Graham | Giants | Victor Cruz-Jason Pierre-Paul |
| Panthers | Cam Newton-Steve Smith | Cowboys | Jason Witten-DeMarcus Ware |
| Buccaneers | Josh Freeman-LeGarrette
Blount | Redskins | Brian Orakpo- Ryan Kerrigan |
INITIAL THOUGHTS: KOTAKU.com's Owen Good examined the pairings and noted with this being a "popularity contest," it is Broncos QB Tim Tebow's "tournament to lose." However, increased distance from the "memory of the Broncos' winning streak and overtime playoff win," as well as "anti-Tebow voting," could hurt his chances. How far Saints QB Drew Brees goes "may depend on how big the stink is over the Saints and their bounty scandal," while it is strange to think that Buccaneers RB LeGarrette Blount "would go from falcon-punching his way out of a scholarship to 'Madden' cover candidate in a little more than two years." The first-round matchup between Lions WR Calvin Johnson and QB Matthew Stafford "might be the highest-quality pairing in the field." Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see how far Raiders P Shane Lechler goes "as fans realize they can vote a punter onto the cover" (
KOTAKU.com, 3/7).
