Instead of picking a cover athlete for their 24th edition of the Madden NFL video game series, the powers that be at Electronic Arts have passed the decision onto the fans, in the form of a 32-athlete bracket. One player from each NFL team was pitted in a vote-based elimination tournament, and the “winners” from second-round polling were announced today.

Michael Vick, who fronted the game’s 2004 edition, might be the favorite in this tournament, but oh look, there’s Danny Woodhead from the New England Patriots. One has to wonder if Woodhead, who had relatively easy matchups against Steve Johnson and Hakeem Nicks, has the scrappiness and deceptive speed required to blow past Aaron Rodgers. The winner would surely be favored against the Jamaal Charles/Peyton Hillis winner, and could conceivably face Vick, Drew Brees or Adrian Peterson for the right to appear on the cover of Madden NFL 12.

The full bracket is here. Enjoy it. It might be the last NFL competition we see for a while.