Pats' Rob Gronkowski to Grace Cover of 'Madden NFL 17'
Rob Gronkowski finally gets his chance of realizing a dream.
It's no surprise that New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is slated to grace the cover of "Madden NFL '17." After all, he's one of the most recognizable players in a league that is quite fond of its quarterbacks.
The announcement was made last Thursday via SportsCenter, with the interesting note that Gronk actually becomes the first ever New England player to be named in the cover, according to ESPN.
The 27-year-old almost got his first cover for the popular sports video game last year, but the voters decided to give the honor to New York Giants' Odell Beckham, Jr. But this time, he finally gets his chance of realizing a dream. In fact, he told SportsCenter that it is a "dream come true" for him to be on that cover.
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"When I first found out, I was blessed… it was a surreal moment," he said.
Entering his sixth year with New England, Gronkowski is quickly becoming one of the standouts for the Patriots. He produced 154 receptions for 2,300 yards in the past two seasons while also making 23 TDs. He made 72 receptions for 1,176 yards last season amid injuries and produced 11 TDs.
His success in the league is unlike any other though, since he started slow in his rookie year, eventually having difficulties in adjusting to professional football. However, after a couple of years, he was able to carve his own niche and become one of the most important players for the team.
Talking about the honor of becoming the cover for a best-selling video game, he admitted that although it was reason enough to celebrate, he actually didn't, considering that it was more of a "feel-good moment."
Patriots fans will certainly be lining up for a copy of this latest installment from EA Sports. According to International Business Times, the game will be released on August 23, 2016 for multiple platforms, including Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, as well as Microsoft's Xbox One and Xbox 360.
