EA Sports has extended an offer to more than 11,000 college football players, proposing a compensation of $600 for their participation in the upcoming release of EA Sports College Football 25.
According to a report by ESPN, contracts have been dispatched to 134 schools within the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Each school has the opportunity to include up to 85 players in the game.
Players are given the choice to consent to the usage of their name, image, and likeness in the game, with the additional option to opt out of future editions.
Those who elect to stay within the franchise will receive annual compensation, while those who opt-out will be remunerated for their inclusion during their tenure on the roster.
This marks a significant departure, as EA Sports College Football 25 will be the first instance where college athletes are financially compensated for the portrayal of their likeness in the game. Historically, such compensation was barred by NCAA regulations, a stance that was altered in 2019 following the passage of a law in California.
In response to this regulatory shift, EA revived the series and committed to compensating players who grant permission for the use of their names and likenesses.
In the lead-up to the game’s relaunch, reports emerged indicating that EA had established a cash pool amounting to $5 million for athletes featured in the franchise, translating to roughly $500 per player.
However, dissatisfaction regarding the compensation arose, culminating in a boycott organized by the College Football Players Association in June 2023. Justin Falcinelli, vice president of the CFBPA, characterized the offered sum as “ridiculously low,” contrasting it with the substantial payments received by NFL players for their appearances in EA’s Madden series.
