Madden 25 cover vote: Barry Sanders advances; Matthew Stafford eliminated

The Madden NFL 25 cover vote is now in its second round. This year, with the video game series having its 25th anniversary, past and current players are in the mix to be on the cover. For the Detroit Lions, former running back Barry Sanders is representing them on the "Old School" side of the bracket. Quarterback Matthew Stafford served as the Lions' "New School" representative, but he has already been eliminated.

Sanders took on Ron Rivera in the first round of voting and cruised to an easy victory. He received 95 percent of the vote, making it seem like he is one of the favorites to get through the "Old School" bracket and win the cover vote.

In the second round, Sanders is matched up with Marcus Allen, who received 62 percent of the vote in his matchup with Tedy Bruschi. Voting for round two ends on March 27.

Stafford was narrowly edged by Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin in the first round. Martin received 53 percent of the vote, meaning Stafford won't be following in Calvin Johnson's footsteps as the Madden cover boy. Johnson, of course, won last year's cover vote, and for the Lions to be represented on the cover again this year, it will be up to Sanders to win the whole thing.