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Madden NFL 17 cover star revealed – you’ll love it or hate it

EA has announced New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski as the cover star of the Madden NFL 17 video game.

In what’s become an annual event almost as big as the game itself, EA revealed the cover art alongside the release date for the game.

Madden NFL 17 will be released on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 on August 23. EA Access members will get to play the game first.

The 26-year-old Gronkowski who’s as famous for his off-field partying as his ability to catch touchdown passes from Tom Brady, succeeds Odell Beckham Jnr on the cover of the flagship gridiron title.

Related: Best PS4 games 2016

Gronk, depicted in the artwork with performing his patented ‘spike’ celebration, is the first Patriots player to appear on the cover.

https://twitter.com/statuses/730896153147908101

Just like his team and his quarterback, the fun-loving Gronskowski (aka Gronk, aka Gronker, The Man Puppy, aka The Muppy…) tends to split opinion among fans. As such, it’ll be interesting to see whether his presence on the cover has an effect on sales, one way or the other.

Gronkowski will, of course, also hope to avoid the so-called Madden curse, which has invariably struck down the game’s cover stars over the years.

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