EA Sports just shared some big news about its upcoming college football video game. According to ESPN, EA Sports has contracted with OneTeam Partners to “facilitate collegiate athletes’ names and likenesses” into the game, which means EA Sports College Football will have real players. The partnership will include the chance for the players to choose to opt-in to the game and receive compensation. Details, which include the total compensation an athlete will receive, are still being finalized but EA Sports told ESPN the goal is to be “as inclusive and equitable as possible.”
If a player chooses not to be in the game, EA Sports will create a generic avatar and player in that athlete’s place. For players who are participating in the game, it’s possible a face scan of their likeness could be used. But due to the number of players in the FBS, not every player’s face will be scanned. EA Sports said more than 120 FBS schools have committed to being in the game along with 10 FBS conferences and the College Football Playoff.
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One school that initially opted out of the game is Notre Dame. But since making that announcement in 2021, the school has been in contact with EA Sports to help with the NIL integration for the video game. Following Wednesday’s agreement, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Tulane said their schools will be in the game.
EA Sports College Football will be the first college football video game for the company since NCAA Football 14 was released in 2013. Months after the release of the game, EA Sports wrote a letter saying it will discontinue the product following a court ruling that required it to pay class-action completion to previous athletes who were not compensated for being in the game. But now that athletes can get compensated for their name, image and likeness, EA Sports announced in 2021 the game is making a comeback.
“We’ve heard from the millions of passionate fans requesting the return of college football video games,” Cam Weber, EA Sports EVP and GM, said last year. “We love the energy, tradition and pageantry of college football and I am beyond thrilled to say we are back in development. We have a lot of really exciting work ahead of us, and a great team that is eager to bring a new game to players in the next couple of years.” EA Sports College Football is scheduled to be released in the summer of 2024.
