First Madden NFL 15 screenshot is of Colin Kapernick and his tattoos

Hot off releasing the first screenshot for NHL 15, EA Sports is now offering us our first look at Madden NFL 15. Unfortunately, it's a look at Colin Kaepernick's ugly mug. Even touched up he's hard to look at.

With the San Francisco 49ers quarterback out of the running for this Madden NFL 15's cover, EA has apparently decided to have him as the centerpiece of the first screenshot. But there may be reason for that: his tattoos. For the first time in the history of the franchise, Madden NFL 15 will feature individual player tattoos.

Tattoos in Madden have always been a tricky endeavor due to the actual artists owning the rights to the design. As explained by Game Informer, a past lawsuit filed by tattoo artist Stephen Allen against EA for featuring Ricky Williams' tattoo on the box of 2004's NFL Street led the NFLPA to recommend that players get wavers from their tattoo artists to avoid this sort of problem in the future. According to SportsBusiness Journal writer Eric Fisher, Kaepernick did that, which is why you can now see the ink on Kaepernick's biceps.

As for the screenshot, well, it sure does look pretty. Judging by the fidelity, I'm assuming this is a next-gen shot. Madden NFL 15 is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on August 26.