It may be time to cringe, New England Patriots fans. The "Madden NFL 13" cover tournament is underway and Patriots Pro Bowl tight end Rob Gronkowski is one of the favorites.

"Gronk" enters the tournament this week as a No. 2 seed. He beat out teammate and receiver Wes Welker to enter the main bracket and face No. 15 seed and receiver Brandon Lloyd in the first round. Strangely, Lloyd was the Rams' representative but signed as a free agent with the Patriots.

Gronkowski made this recent video petitioning fans to vote for him on the cover of "Madden." The video is pretty funny, but New England fans may not laugh if Gronkowski gets his wish.

The video game curse is well known for players who get on the cover. Last year, former Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis was on the "Madden" cover and had an injury-plagued and controversial 2011.

Here are the AFC East brackets:

• Gronkowski (No. 2 seed) vs. Lloyd (No. 15)
• Eagles RB LeSean McCoy (No. 5 seed) vs. Dolphins RB Reggie Bush (No. 12 seed)
• Jets CB Darrelle Revis (No. 7 seed) vs. Bills WR Steve Johnson (No. 10 seed)
• Texans RB Arian Foster (No. 3 seed) vs. Jets QB Tim Tebow (No. 14 seed)