EA Sports has announced that players will be blocked from manually adding athletes who have opted out of having their name, image, and likeness used in the new college football video game. The company revealed this safeguard as it begins reaching out to athletes to pay them for their participation in the game. Players who choose to opt in will receive a minimum payment of $600 and a copy of EA Sports College Football 25, with opportunities to earn additional money by promoting the game. On the other hand, players who opt out will not be included in the game at all.
The developers of EA Sports’ college football games faced lawsuits in 2013 over the use of players’ likenesses without compensation, leading to the discontinuation of the games. However, with the recent approval of NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals for college athletes, EA Sports has been working on bringing back the popular franchise. The company has been developing the new game since 2021 and made the decision to pay players to be featured in it.
Ramogi Huma, executive director of the National College Players Association, sees the opt-in offer as a significant milestone for athletes. He believes that players enjoy being included in the game and that the question of whether they should be paid for it has now been answered. Huma acknowledges that players’ opinions on the fairness of the compensation will soon become apparent.
The game will feature all 134 FBS teams, including Notre Dame, which initially expressed hesitation about participating until rules regarding student-athlete participation were finalized. However, Notre Dame’s athletic director, Jack Swarbrick, confirmed that they will be included in the game and praised EA Sports for providing opportunities for student-athletes to benefit from their name, image, and likeness.
In terms of preventing players who have opted out from being added to the game manually, EA Sports has not disclosed its specific methods. However, Daryl Holt, EA Sports senior vice president, stated that a generic player will be used in place of those who opt out. This measure aims to protect the players who do not wish to have their NIL used without their permission. While the details of how this will be implemented remain undisclosed, it is clear that players will not be able to edit or add opt-out players to the game.
The inclusion of popular sports analysts and broadcasters in the game has also been announced. Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler from ESPN’s “College GameDay” will lend their voices to the game, along with Rece Davis, David Pollack, and Jesse Palmer.
Overall, EA Sports’ new college football game marks a significant step forward for college athletes in terms of compensation for their name, image, and likeness. The game’s inclusion of all FBS teams and the involvement of prominent sports personalities further enhances its appeal. As the game’s launch approaches, it will be interesting to see how players respond to the opt-in offer and whether they believe the compensation is fair.