If It’s in the Game, It Gets Paid
For decades, EA Sports has pumped out a new yearly Madden NFL offering. The game has become the unquestioned staple for the sports scene, and while it’s debatable whether a lack of competition has set it back, the college game went away as NIL money became a thing.
If It’s in the Game, It Gets Paid
That is no more, and Electronic Arts is handling every single player the same this summer.
Announced to return earlier this month, EA College Football is set to release over the summer. There is expected to be a full trailer in May, and while the official X account put out an initial teaser on February 15, it has since been deleted. However, players are starting to receive communication as to how they will be compensated for their inclusion in the game.
From an individual player perspective, EA Sports is set to offer every single player included in the game $600 and a copy of the game on their preferred platform. That obviously doesn’t scratch the surface of what some NIL deals are handed to respective athletes, but it is also substantially more than some are undoubtedly receiving. Keeping it the same across the board allows for a level of consistency, and it sounds like additional NIL funds could be allocated to certain players for further promotion in the form of social media posts and other opportunities.
Additional information on how the game will work has started to trickle in. The service academies will be represented despite their players not being allowed to accept NIL deals. Creating players will remain a part of the roster customization, but those players who have opted out of inclusion will not be available to be created manually. Not unexpectedly, coaches will not be represented accurately in the game as they would have separate contract agreements.
It is important to note that the title of EA’s upcoming release is College Football 25. They have done substantial work to outline a landscape for a game to work without the help or support of the NCAA itself. They have worked outside of the governing umbrella and are including every individual aspect of college football as a result of their collective efforts.
If EA Sports was to do any other collegiate game, same basketball for instance, it too would need to be constructed the same way. EA Sports hasn’t made an NBA game for some time, and they haven’t even made a good basketball game for longer. It would likely be on 2K Sports to take on a college hoops game, which seems unlikely now and in the future.
At any rate, it’s great to see EA back on the gridiron with a college option, and as a game that was often far superior to Madden, it’s hard not to be hopeful that the brand returns to its former glory.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
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