EA Sports announced a deal to get college football players — as their famous motto goes — in the game.
The game developer is offering 11,000 Division I players $600 for their name, image and likeness to appear in EA Sports College Football 25, according to multiple reports.
Those who agree to the deal will also receive a free copy on their preferred platform.
“We feel very proud that we’ll be the largest program, likely the highest-spending program,” EA Sports vice president of business development Sean O’Brien said to ESPN. “And really an inclusive opportunity with an equitable distribution of funds across the board.”
EA Sports last made an NCAA football video game for the 2013 college football season, but the game was dropped over concerns — and high-profile lawsuits — player likenesses.
But now that players can be paid through NIL deals, EA is bringing the beloved game back.
EA also announced that all 134 FBS schools will be in the game.
The game will be released sometime this summer, with the full trailer and reveal coming in May.
The cover athlete, something that has been speculated on since the teaser trailer was released, has also yet to be revealed.
On top of the players being included in the game, ESPN announcers Kirk Herbstreit, Chris Fowler, David Pollack, Jesse Palmer, Kevin Connors and Rece Davis all announced that they will be featured as well..
But last year, according to Pro Football Talk, the College Football Players Association urged players to reject a similar offer, which offered each player $500 to be in the game.
“All current players should boycott this deal,” CFBPA vice president Justin Falcinelli said in June 2023. “It is an opt-in deal, and they should not opt into it.
“It is just a ridiculously low amount of money, given the context and the hype that surrounds this game.”