Since 2010, EA Sports has held some form of a fan-vote for the cover of the upcoming Madden NFL video game. It began with just three options and balooned to as many as 32 in a bracket-style tournament. Fatigue with the lengthy process — sometimes stretching on for well over a month — led to interest in the campaigns plummeting the last few years.
The company is taking a much more subdued approach for Madden NFL 16. It'll be wrapped up in a little over a week and there are only four candidates this time around:
Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots. Finished Madden NFL 15 rated 98 Overall.
Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers. Finished Madden NFL 15 rated 97 Overall.
Odell Beckham Jr. , WR, New York Giants. Finished Madden NFL 15 rated 90 Overall.
Patrick Peterson , CB, Arizona Cardinals. Finished Madden NFL 15 rated 88 Overall.
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Beckham Jr. has long appeared to be the clear favorite for this year's cover . He checked all the boxes for what EA would want and what fans would recognize and support. Gronkowski was more of a wild card given his unpredictable behavior off the field. Brown had the stats to back up consideration but he also had that for the Madden NFL 15 cover vote and he couldn't even get out of the first round. Peterson had a disappointing season and didn't even finish the year as the highest-rated corner on his own team so his inclusion here is a head-scratcher.
The first round of voting begins today, May 4, runs until May 11, and is completed within either Madden NFL 15 or the Madden NFL Mobile game. Those interested will need to log into Ultimate Team Mode on consoles or simply enter the mobile game to cast votes. They limit ballets to one per day but more can be earned by completing Cover Vote Sets and Solo Challenges in the former or Live Events in the latter. The two players with the most votes will move on to the Finals held through the ESPN website with a winner being announced on May 13.
[Update 5/12] As expected Beckham Jr. and Gronkowki have advanced to the finals. Voting begins Wednesday, May 13 at 9AM ET through ESPN's Madden cover page and will only be open for nine hours. The winner will be announced during the 6ET edition of SportsCenter.
Bryan Wiedey posts sports gaming news and analysis daily at Pastapadre.com, is a regular participant in the Press Row Podcast and Press Row Hangout shows, and can be reached on Twitter @Pastapadre.