EA Sports released a teaser on Thursday confirming that every FBS school will be included in its highly anticipated new college football game, and we now know what the compensation will look like for players who choose to be featured.
Over 11,000 college football players from 134 FBS programs can now officially opt in to be featured in “EA Sports College Football 25,” which will be released later this year. EA Sports vice president of business development Sean O’Brien told ESPN’s Michael Rothstein that each player who opts into the game will receive $600 and a copy of the game.
If every player in Division I FBS opted in, that would amount to a roughly $7 million investment for EA Sports. O’Brien said the $600 was determined by examining deals EA Sports completed with other sports titles, including the Madden NFL series the NHL series.
Players who opt in will receive the $600 regardless of how much success the game has. The players will be paid annually and can opt out of future installments of the game.
Many fans mocked the offer for amounting to only $670 when you include the value of the game copy. However, most players across the country will likely opt in just to be featured. A lot of players grew up playing previous versions of EA Sports’ NCAA football game, which has not been produced since 2013. Even one current NFL star quarterback said his dream was to be on the cover of the game.
Star players may be more likely to opt out, especially now that name, image and likeness deals are allowed. Caleb Williams said last year that he does not think it makes much sense for top players to be paid as much as others who may never even see the field. Coming up with a pay scale based on skill and performance would be incredibly challenging, however.
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