Electronic Arts and ESPN announced that after six rounds and a record-breaking 40 million votes, Barry Sanders stands triumphant as the cover athlete for Madden NFL 25.

During his run to the cover, Sanders triumphed over a who’s who of NFL legends, including Ray Lewis, Marcus Allen, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. Sanders’ win is historic in many ways, as not only will he be appearing on the cover of the 25th anniversary of the Madden NFL franchise, but he is the first athlete ever to appear on back-to-back covers after sharing the NCAA Football 13 box with Robert Griffin III last year. This also marks the first time players from the same team have secured consecutive covers as Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson, Jr. appeared on the cover of Madden NFL 13.

“The Madden NFL franchise has such a rich tradition and history, and there’s no better way to celebrate our 25th Anniversary than by having one of the best players of all-time on the cover,” said Anthony Stevenson, Senior Director of Marketing for EA SPORTS. “Barry Sanders has long been a fan favorite, so we’re proud to have him as the face of Madden NFL 25.”

Madden NFL 25 celebrates 25 years of innovation and unlocks the power, precision, and creativity of the NFL ball carrier.  Whether you’re a slashing running back, dual-threat QB, or ball-hawking safety, fans will be able unleash 30 new moves and string together devastating combos with the all-new precision modifier. 

Year two of the Infinity Engine brings both a more polished physics simulation and introduces the all-new Force Impact System.  Power moves including the Hit Stick, trucking, dive tackle and stiff-arm have been completely redesigned to harness the full potential of Infinity Engine 2, giving you more control over the outcome of a play than ever before.

Infinity Engine 2 also introduces a suite of new features and improvements, including hard run cutting for more natural changes of direction, user-controlled stumble recovery, improved run blocking, new post-play logic and more.

On defense, new tackle pursuit angles and “breakdown” behavior create a more authentic defensive experience. Defenders can now utilize hard cuts to recover quickly when caught out of position to get back into the play, and the introduction heat-seeker tackling, special lunge tackles and more accurate dive tackles create the ultimate game of cat-and-mouse between the offense and defense.

Madden NFL 25 will be available for $59.99 at launch, fans can pre-order at GameStop to receive the exclusive San Francisco 49ers Franchise Pack: Eddie DeBartolo Jr. (only available for use in Connected Franchise), Bill Walsh and Joe Montana for use in Connected Franchise and Madden Ultimate Team.