Madden NFL 12 cover athlete is Peyton Hillis, beating Michael Vick in fan-decided contest

Written by Matt Swider on April 27, 2011

News: The Cleveland Browns running back is a surprise winner in the five week contest that ended with a live unveiling on ESPN's SportsNation.

Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis is the Madden NFL 12 cover athlete after beating Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick for the job in a five-week-long fan vote. This self-described unlikely winner also surpassed a player from every one of the 32 NFL teams. Most notably, Hillis went head-to-head with the heavily-favored Aaron Rodgers in the fourth round.

Of his chances against the No. 1 seed Green Bay quarterback, Hillis said "I kind of figured I was done and that was it." Nevertheless, he progressed to the final round, which was decided live on SportsNation this afternoon. Appearing alongside him on the ESPN TV show was the controversial Vick, who took the news well by embracing and congratulating Hillis.

Nearly 13 million votes were received over the course of the contest's five weeks. Madden NFL 12 will be released on August 30 for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP and PS2. Stay tuned for more Madden NFL 12 coverage over the next week on Gaming Target.