Over 11,000 college football players will now have a chance to opt in to EA Sports' new game, EA Sports College Football 25, and get paid for their participation.
On Thursday, EA Sports finalized its NIL plan and started the opt-in process for college football players across the 134 programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Up to 85 players per school will initially appear on rosters when the game releases this summer.
Theyre in the game.
EASPORTSCollege (@EASPORTSCollege) February 22, 2024
College Football 25 will feature all 134 FBS schools #CFB25 pic.twitter.com/WLH3DEXdv0
EA Sports vice president of global marketing, communications and partnerships John Reseburg announced Thursday night that more than 5,000 players from more than 130 schools had already opted in on the first day.
Athletes who opt in to the game will receive $600 and a copy of the game (valued at $70). They can opt in or out each year they’re in college. Most players who opt in will receive between $1,800 and $3,000 in their college career – the former number for a three-year career and the latter for a five-year career that includes a redshirt.
To arrive at the $600 payment, EA Sports vice president of business development Sean O'Brien told ESPN that the company evaluated deals it has completed with other sports titles, including the Madden NFL series, the NHL series and the FC (soccer) series. O'Brien added that EA Sports' college football deal comes with no expectation of services provided by the athlete and will be guaranteed regardless of the game's success.
"There's nothing been done on this scale that EA is doing, where every student-athlete that participates in the game is guaranteed revenue," said Cory Moss, the CEO of the Collegiate Licensing Company, which has worked with EA on the game.
In addition to its standard payout, EA Sports plans to create 100 additional NIL opportunities per year for athletes to work with the company. These opportunities include social media posts, on-campus promotions, advertisements or even becoming one of the game's cover athletes.
Ohio State cornerback Denzel Burke and running back Quinshon Judkins are among the players helping EA Sports promote the game via paid partnerships.
Im in the game #CFB25 @EASPORTSCollege #EAAthlete pic.twitter.com/Z3JyQf35IN
— Denzel Burke (@King10Burke) February 22, 2024
Im in the game. #CFB25 @easportscollege #EAAthlete pic.twitter.com/MIh92xGOLm
— Quinshon Judkins (@qaj4_) February 22, 2024
All 134 FBS programs, including the service academies (whose players cannot receive NIL payments) and Notre Dame, will be featured in the game. According to Matt Brown of Extra Points, no FCS programs will be in the game at launch, nor will real-life coaches, such as Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and his staff.
Were in the game! @EASPORTSCollege
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) February 22, 2024
#CFB25 | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/8gzaB2VXES
EA Sports College Football 25 comes more than a decade after EA Sports' latest college football game, NCAA 14. The company's production of the college football title was halted after lawsuits over players’ inability to make money off their likeness in the game. But after NIL rules were passed to allow players to be in the game, EA Sports announced in February 2021 that a college football video game would return in the near future.
Three years later, the game is scheduled to be released this summer. EA Sports plans to do a full reveal of the title in May. Outside of Thursday's opt-in news, the company has revealed minor details about the game in the lead-up to May, including announcements that Chris Fowler, Kevin Connors, David Pollack, Kirk Herbstreit, Jesse Palmer and Desmond Howard will be featured in the game as commentators and analysts.
