Here's how much student athletes are being paid for EA Sports College Football 25
One of the biggest issues that plagued EA's previous NCAA Football series was paying players for the name, image and likeness. This week, it was reported that EA Sports has finalized the deal for its new EA Sports College Football video game series, and college football players can begin to opt-in to this year's game.
According to The Athletic, it's believed to be the largest NIL deal ever with more than 11,000 college football players from all 134 Football Bowl Subdivision teams able to opt in.
As many as 85 players per school will appear on the initial rosters with a number of college athletes — in and outside of football — will serve as ambassadors for the game and receive additional NIL compensation.
So how much are players getting paid to have their name, image and likeness in EA Sports College Football 25?
Every player who opts in and is selected for the game will receive $600 along with a copy of the game on their platform of choice (a $70 value if its a current gen system).
An athlete can choose to opt in for multiple years and will be paid annually for their NIL. Athletes who transfer will also be compensated as long as they are on a roster. Players will have the opportunity to opt out of future editions of the game if they choose.
Players from Air Force, Army, and Navy are not allowed to accept NIL deals and payments, but are expected to still be in the game.
Because of the large number of players, faces will not be scanned. Instead, images and player information will be taken from team rosters.
Paying players for their image and likeness was one of the major factors that ultimately resulted in EA ceasing its previous college football video game series. Although EA had wanted to pay student-athletes, previous NCAA rules forbid it.
However, in 2021, with new NIL rules passed, it opened the door for EA to return to the college football landscape.
With the NIL deal now going out to players, that's one major hurdle cleared for EA Sports. Now all that remains is for us to get our first look at the game.
EA released a teaser trailer earlier this month, confirming that College Football 25 will be revealed in May. The game is set to launch this summer.