Madden NFL 2016 Cover Finalists Down to Four

"Madden NFL" has four finalists remaining, one of them will appear on its cover for the 2016 version of the game.

Game developer Electronic Arts announced on May 4 that the cover model for its NFL-based game, "Madden NFL 16," will be selected via a fan voting process.

Gamespot explained that gamers can help decide by voting for their athlete of choice from a provided list. Voting can be done via "Madden NFL Mobile", a free-to-play game, or Madden Ultimate Team in "Madden NFL 15". Players of "Madden NFL Mobile" can vote only once per day. Furthermore, players can unlock new votes by completing challenges in-game. Those voting through Madden Ultimate Team can only do so once in the beginning, but they can earn four new votes by completing Solo Challenges in the game.

According to NFL.com, the four athletes left to choose from are Rob Gronkowski (New England Patriots tight end), Patrick Peterson (Arizona Cardinals cornerback), Odell Beckham Jr. (New York Giants wide receiver) and Antonio Brown (Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver).

Gronkowski is in the lead in terms of popularity since he is currently the best tight end in the league, having recently won the Super Bowl 2015 with Tom Brady and the rest of the New England Patriots, Bleacher Report observed. The sports site added that Beckham was a rookie in the previous season and won Rookie of the Year, being an instant favorite among NFL fans. Peterson is the current Madden Bowl winner, so his current and past connections to the game might help him garner votes. Brown has established himself as one of the top receivers in the NFL at present. Everything will most likely boil down to a final battle between Gronkowski and Beckham, Bleacher Report predicted.

According to Gamespot, the first-round of voting will close on May 11, leaving two NFL finalists to choose from on May 12. On May 13, anyone can go to ESPN.com to choose their preferred ultimate winner to be featured on the cover of "Madden NFL 16". The winner will be announced on the same day during the 6 p.m. EDT episode of SportsCenter.

"Madden NFL 16" will be released on August 25, 2015, and the game will be playable on the PlayStation 4, Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. EA Sports stated that the game is still in its developmental stages. According to EA, the upcoming game will feature intuitive controls for receivers, quarterbacks and defensive backs and improve the passing game. More information about the new game is expected in the coming weeks.