To tweet: http://bit.ly/QfinalMCV25

Joe Montana faces Barry Sanders and Robert Griffin III challenges Adrian Peterson in Quarterfinals, voting now open at ESPN.com/MaddenVote

Today ESPN SportsNation revealed third-round results and announced the quarterfinal matchups for the Madden NFL 25 Cover Vote, as fans have now cast 35 million votes throughout the campaign. In the Old School bracket Joe Montana will take on Barry Sanders, while Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders will reignite their rivalry in the other matchup. In the New School bracket Arian Foster will square off against Russell Wilson, while Robert Griffin III and Adrian Peterson jockey for votes.

Jerry Rice stood as the top vote-getter in Round 3, trouncing Michael Strahan with 85% of the overall vote. Even though Strahan valiantly fought to get past Kurt Warner in the previous round, Rice’s momentum proved to be too much for the former Giants star. Adrian Peterson continues to run over the competition the same way he runs over opposing defenses in the New School bracket, garnering 81% of the vote in his matchup and spiking Rob Gronkowski. Other voting highlights include:

• Over 34.5 million total votes cast to date
• 5.7 million votes this round, 2.2 million more than last year
• The matchup that drew the most votes this round was Arian Foster vs. Colin Kaepernick

The stage is set for an incredible run to the finish, as some of the biggest names of both past and present continue to campaign for their spot on the cover of Madden NFL 25. Fans are invited to cast their votes at ESPN.com/MaddenVote through their PC or mobile devices.  For the chance to “Maximize” votes, ESPN and Madden NFL 25 have collaborated with Pepsi MAX to promote Twitter live voting every Tuesday throughout the Madden Cover Vote campaign, where tweets with each player’s respective Cover Vote hashtag will count as two votes.  Double votes ends at midnight ET each Tuesday.

Embraced by fans and honored by critics for 25 years, Madden NFL is known as the NFL’s “33^rd Franchise” due to its authentic gameplay, the development team’s unparalleled access to NFL resources and its prominent place in NFL culture.

Madden NFL 25 is developed in Orlando, Florida by EA Tiburon and will be available for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system for $59.99 and can be preordered at GameStop. To learn more about Madden NFL 25, visit http://www.easports.com/madden-nfl. Fans are also invited to become a Madden Insider for exclusive information on Facebook including the latest news, original content and more for Madden NFL 25.

All player participation has been facilitated by National Football League Players Incorporated, the licensing and marketing subsidiary of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA).

EA SPORTS is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, fan programs and cross-platform digital experiences. EA SPORTS creates connected experiences that ignite the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports videogames, including Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, NCAA® Football, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® golf, SSX™ and Fight Night boxing.

For more information about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs, forums and game apps, please visit www.easports.com to connect, share and compete.

-30-