
Peyton Hillis, running back for the Cleveland Browns, was selected by millions of fans across the country to grace the cover of Madden NFL 12. Hillis, a No. 10 seed, defeated former Madden NFL 04 cover athlete and No. 3 seed Michael Vick (QB, Eagles) in the finals of an unprecedented campaign with ESPN.com and SportsNation that allowed fans to determine, by an online vote that was open to the public, the player to be featured on the cover of Madden NFL 12 when the game launches in the UK Autumn 2011 . More than 12.7 million votes were logged overall in the campaign which ran from March 21 -- April 27 through ESPNSportsNation.com online and via the mobile Web, the most ever for an ESPN poll or vote. With deep integrations across multiple ESPN platforms, including TV, radio, online, mobile, social media, ESPN Deportes and more, Hillis defeated Vick by a final margin of 66% to 34%. Fans rallied behind Hillis as he continually ousted higher seeded players in the bracket-style voting campaign, including No. 7 seed Ray Rice (Baltimore Ravens), No. 2 seed Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons), No. 6 seed Jamaal Charles (Kansas City Chiefs), and No. 1 seed Super Bowl XLV MVP Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers). "Our fans have responded in record-setting fashion to honor Peyton Hillis, and we're extremely pleased to welcome him into an exclusive fraternity of NFL players to appear on the cover of the Madden NFL franchise," said Anthony Stevenson, Senior Product Manager of EA SPORTS. "This <b>...</b>
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