Madden NFL 12 Cover Athlete Voting Begins

EA wants fans to vote for the Madden NFL 12 cover athlete. Instead of presenting us with a handful of finalists, though, EA has decided to hold a grand tournament with 32 entries.

As you can see from the bracket, there's one entry for each team. This leads to some unexpected hilarity, as certain teams don't really have big names worth putting on the cover. For example, the Panthers player in the tourney is offensive tackle Jordan Gross. While a good tackle, he sure as shit isn't going to win.

Even better: the "player" representing the Seahawks is "the 12th Man." Yes, the fans! You're the real superstars, not those world-class athletes who devote their lives to the sport and risk permanent injury on a weekly basis. This year belongs to the shirtless and face-painted.

Voting opens today. The entries will be whittled down in five weekly "rounds." The winning athlete (or faceless crowd) will be announced on SportsNation on ESPN2 on April 27th.

The Madden cover athlete is usually someone young who performed really well the previous season and hasn't been on the cover before. By those standards, you have to figure Aaron Rodgers is the odds-on favorite.