Calvin Johnson To Be On Cover Of Madden 13
Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson will grace the cover of Electronic Arts Sports Madden NFL 13 video game. Johnson was revealed as the winner by ESPN’s “SportsNation” on Wednesday, beating out Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.
Johnson received 52 percent of the 649,510 online votes cast to edge Newton. They emerged as the two finalists on April 18, the penultimate step in a process that began on March 21.
Johnson and Newton were in the initial field of 32 players in a bracket setup, with each NFL team having one representative. In the semifinal voting last week, Johnson “defeated” Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers by a wide margin, 67 percent to 33 percent. Newton had gotten to the final by beating out San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis, 53 percent to 47 percent.
Johnson succeeds last year’s surprise winner for the Madden 12 cover, former Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis. The man nicknamed Megatron will look to shake the megacurse tied to the EA Sports’ honor, one that continued with Hillis.
Hillis battled through an injury-riddled season in Cleveland and wasn’t re-signed as a free agent, landing with the Kansas City Chiefs. Since former Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George was the first NFL player to appear solo on the game cover (without now retired TV analyst John Madden) in the 2000 edition, many of the dozen previous “winners” have been plagued by injury or other disappointments on the field.
Johnson is the first wide receiver to earn the cover but fans will need to wait until the end of the preseason to get their hands on the game. Madden 13 is set to be released for Playstation 3 and XBOX 360 on Tuesday, Aug. 28.



