Fans with mixed reaction to Rob Gronkowski getting Madden '17 cover

— -- After falling short last year, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was officially named as the cover athlete for Madden NFL '17 on Thursday.

Not surprisingly, Gronkowski's selection brought about mixed emotions on Twitter. While some Patriots fans were happy with the selection, many were worried about the so-called Madden curse, in which bad things happen to the player during the year he appears on the cover. While this curse seems to have been disproved in recent years, fans are still concerned.

With no fan vote to determine the cover athlete for the first time in six years, a number of fans were wondering why Gronkowski got the nod over the Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton, the reigning NFL MVP.

Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos' Chris Harris Jr. wondered why his teammate and Super Bowl MVP Von Miller wasn't selected.

And with the combination of Gronkowski's penchant for partying and the lingering specter of the Patriots' Deflategate issue, there came some amusing tweets speculating what else will be included in Madden '17.