Richard Sherman wins ‘Madden 15' cover vote

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman will be the cover athlete of Electronic Arts’ "Madden NFL 15" after a nationwide vote.

The announcement was made Friday afternoon during ESPN’s live broadcast of SportsCenter.

Sherman beat 15 players during a voting competition.

ESPN.com said in the final round of voting, Sherman beat Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton with 56 percent to 44 percent of 661,412 total votes.

There were 9,600,000 total votes throughout the campaign.

“Richard Sherman is a fantastic cover athlete selection by the fans,” said Anthony Stevenson, vice president of global marketing for EA SPORTS.  “Defense is a big focus for Madden NFL 15, and Sherman is one of the brightest defensive stars in the NFL.  He shares the same energy and passion for the game as our ‘legion’ of Madden fans.”

Sherman is the second Seahawks player to be featured on the cover of "Madden." The first Seahawks player to appear on the cover was running back Shaun Alexander, who was featured on "Madden 07."

The game is scheduled to be released Aug. 26.

KIRO