Dean Michaels

Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders edged out reigning NFL MVP Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings for the right to be on the coveted cover of "Madden NFL 25", the 25th edition of the ultra-popular video game.

Sanders earned the right after garnering 58 percent of the more than 700,000 votes cast on the final matchup. There were 40 million votes tallied throughout the entire competition. The final vote was reflective of EA Sports' celebration of legends and current players.

"Congrats to my guy Barry Sanders for winning the 2013 Madden Cover! Any other guy to take me down... it would've been a problem! Salute," Peterson wrote on Twitter.

Aside from beating Peterson, Sanders also edged newly retired Ray Lewis and fellow Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Jerry Rice.

This marked the second time that a member of the Detroit Lions will be featured on the cover after wide receiver Calvin Johnson won the honor last year.

Johnson snapped the stigma of the "Madden Curse" in 2012 when he broke Rice's NFL single-season receiving yards mark.

The 44-year-old Sanders spent his entire 10-year career with the Lions, rushing for 15,269 yards and 99 touchdowns before stunningly walking away after the 1998 season.

Sanders and Peterson both rushed for more than 2,000 yards in a season. Sanders rushed for 2,053 yards in 1997 while Peterson just missed breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season mark last season, running for 2,097 yards.

It will be the second time that Sanders will appear on the cover of the game. He also was featured in an action shot in the background of the "Madden NFL 2000" cover.

Other players to have appeared on the cover of the video game include Marshall Faulk, Michael Vick, Ray Lewis, Brett Favre and Drew Brees.

Barry Sanders on 'Madden NFL 25' Cover