The next "Madden NFL" Football simulator will be released this August. Each year, a new athlete is chosen for the cover, and this year, two athletes are left competing for the cover: Odell Beckham Jr. and Rob Gronkowski.

As recently as 2013, 64 athletes competed for the cover of "Madden NFL" Football. Then, the competition started shrinking with only 16 to choose from for "Madden NFL 15" and only four to choose from for "Madden NFL 16," Polygon reported. 

The four athletes selected were New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., Pittsburgh Steelers wideout Antonio Brown, Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson and New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Fans were prompted to play to vote for the athletes, meaning that instead of logging onto a website, they had to earn votes by either playing "Madden NFL" Mobile or by playing the Madden Ultimate Team in the console version of the game.

The first round of voting ended on Monday after a week of voting. On Tuesday, it was announced that Beckham and Gronkowski were the two survivors. The next round of voting begins Wednesday and it will only last one day with the winner being announced at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN's Sportscenter.

Round two will allow traditional voting through ESPN's Madden website, according to Bleacher Report. Beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday, fans will be able to login to ESPN.com/MaddenVote to pick either Beckham or Gronkowski.

It was predicted that due to their name recognition Beckham and Gronkowski would be the two finalists. Beckham had a spectacular rookie year, most noted by his spectacular catches, including an amazing three-fingered catch against the Dallas Cowboys in November.

Gronkowski has been the go-to tight end for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. In his five-year career, he already has 54 touchdowns. In 2014, Gronkowski caught 82 passes for 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns in 15 games, helping the Patriots win the Super Bowl.

Which athlete are you choosing? Leave a comment below and let us know.