Colin Kaepernick Will Be The First NFL Player To Have His Tattoos In 'Madden'

It has been such a good week for 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick that even his virtual avatar has a reason to celebrate.

The 49ers quarterback, who signed a six-year extension potentially worth $126 million Wednesday, has become a video game pioneer. According to ESPN's Darren Rovell, Kaepernick will be the first player to have his tattoos featured in the Madden video game.

"We want to be as authentic as possible, so we were pleased that Colin was able to secure the rights to the tattoos," Seann Graddy, a senior producer of Madden 15, told Rovell. "There's a ton of buzz around this. In this game, we only have Colin's tattoos, but we'd love to secure the rights to the tattoos of other players in the future."

Via Steve Noah of Operation Sports, here's how Kaepernick will look in this year's game compared to last year's:

While lots of NFL players sport tattoos, the process of including the body art in the hugely popular game is tricky. The NFL Players Association and EA Sports require tattoo artists to sign waivers allowing their work to be displayed. With so many other features of the game to be ironed out, it's easy to see why getting these waivers isn't exactly a priority for designers.

The issue of tattoo ownership has made headlines recently after the man who designed Mike Tyson's face art sued Warner Brothers after Tyson appeared in Hangover 2. The two parties settled out of court.

Kaepernick's tattoos were the subject of some controversy in 2012 when he became a starter for the 49ers. He brushed aside the controversy, even creating a touchdown celebration that accentuates his body art.

To get his tattoos in the game, Kaepernick got the permission of the two men who created them: Nes Andrion of Endless Ink in Reno, Nevada, and Orly Locquiao of Humble Beginnings in San Jose.

Kaepernick advanced to the semifinals of the game's cover contest, but he was defeated by Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman. Sherman is facing off against Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in the finals for the cover of the game, which hits shelves on Aug. 26.