Madden NFL 16 Cover Finalists Revealed

Electronic Arts on Monday announced plans for this year's Madden NFL 16 cover vote process and revealed the four finalists. First, the four athletes in the running for the cover are:

• Rob Gronkowski (New England Patriots tight end)
• Patrick Peterson (Arizona Cardinals cornerback)
• Odell Beckham Jr. (New York Giants wide receiver)
• Antonio Brown (Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver)

You can vote right now through free-to-play game Madden NFL Mobile or Madden Ultimate Team in Madden NFL 15. Madden NFL Mobile players can vote once per day, and can unlock extra votes by completing in-game challenges. Ultimate Team players, meanwhile, can cast just one vote initially, but can also earn four extra votes by completing Solo Challenges.

First-round voting closes on Monday, May 11; the two finalists will be revealed the next day. And the day after that, May 13, anyone can visit ESPN.com to make their selection for who should grace the Madden NFL 16 cover. The winner will be announced during the 6 PM EDT edition of SportsCenter on May 13.

Madden NFL 16 was announced late last month with basically no information regarding the advancements over last year's game. EA Sports shared a little more today, saying the new game will offer "intuitive new controls for quarterbacks, receivers, and defensive backs." These new controls will "bring the passing game to new levels," EA said, adding that "the battle between the offense and defense is yours to win."

Developed by EA Tiburon in Orlando, Florida, Madden NFL 16 will launch on August 25 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, as well as last-generation consoles like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.