Here's a chance for current and former NFL players to have their voice heard on ESPN. SOTL.com has been asked to poll our membership on which of these eight NFL stars should receive the honor of being on the cover of EA Sports' 25th anniversary edition of the Madden NFL video game. ESPN is taking a fan vote on its website, but wants to hear the opinions of the men who played the game. Cast a vote, and then weigh in with an...

Tom Brady is running up huge point totals for New England. Peyton Manning has turned around Denver's fortunes. Adrian Peterson is running wild. J.J. Watt is a one-man wrecking crew on defense. So who's your choice for this season's MVP in the NFL? One of those four, or someone else? Cast a vote, and weigh in with an opinion.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was paid nearly $30 million in 2011, with most it coming as a bonus. He has been commissioner since 2006, and among his key decisions have been those involving: Personal Conduct Policy, Spygate, the 2011 players lockout, Bountygate, the 2012 officials lockout and restrictions on helmet-to-hemet hits. Now that he's had nearly seven years on the job, do you approve or disapprove of the job Goodell is doing?

Does a season-long slate of Thursday night games jibe with the NFL's assurances that player safety is a major concern? Baltimore's rash of injuries came after a four-game, 18-day stretch ended with a Thursday game.

Awareness of health and safety issues for current and former NFL players has heightened dramatically in recent years. Research has begun on many fronts into the longterm effects of concussions, and the NFLPA and Harvard are partnering to conduct a study, with the goal of gathering data on at least 1,000 players. Similarly, SOTL.com and NFL Player Care combined efforts to give numerous former players free health screenings in New Orleans,...

Adrian Peterson's rapid comeback from ACL surgery has confounded the experts. So has Peyton Manning's return to excellence after a series of neck surgeries. So, who will be the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year this season?

  A bizarre story broke Thursday on Deadspin, detailing that Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o never really had a girlfriend who died of leukemia last year. Te'o has since contended he is the victim of an incredible hoax, after developing an online relationship with a woman who never existed. Should this make NFL teams doubt Te'o, or is it just the latest weirdness from the world of social media? 

This might be the most competitive race ever for NFL Rookie of the Year. Andrew Luck has taken the Colts from being last season's worst team to the brink of the playoffs. Robert Griffin III entered the league with high expectations, and then exceeded them. Russell Wilson went to training camp as a relative nobody, and seized control of the Seattle offense. And rookie running backs Alfred Morris (1,322 yards through Week 15) and Doug Martin...

Who's this season's Defensive Player of the Year? Through 15 weeks, here are our nominees: Tim Jennings (NFL-leading 8 interceptions and 19 passes defensed, plus 49 solo tackles); Von Miller (16 sacks, 6 forced fumbles); Charles Tillman (10 forced fumbles, 15 passes defensed, 2 TD returns of interceptions); Aldon Smith (19.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles); J.J. Watt (19.5 sacks, 15 passes defensed, 3 forced fumbles).

Every NFL offseason brings painful reminders of the business side of football, as some superstars inevitably see their runs with their original teams come to an end. In a perfect world, we'd get to see the greats finish their careers in the cities where they gained their fame. But it seldom happens, as Brian Urlacher's release from the Bears on Wednesday proved yet again. Among this year's carnage: Dwight Freeney (11 years,...