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Of course you’ve heard of the Madden series from EA Sports by now. It has been running forever and in the mainstay for NFL Football video game excitement. If you are just getting into the gaming landscape though, you may have missed NCAA Football, given that EA Sports hasn’t offered their college football game since ‘NCAA Football 14’.
With things shifting through the NIL landscape and video game publishers now allowed to compensate collegiate athletes, the EA Sports revamped ‘College Football’ franchise is coming back. This summer, ‘College Football 25’ drops and it’s expected to be one of the most popular video game releases (or re-releases) of all time.
When EA Sports had the NCAA Football franchise running regularly, it was released every year, just like we still see with the Madden franchise. In those games, no player names were used, but the players always had the same numbers as that year’s starters and usually resembled players on roster from that year.
EA Sports College Football 25 Cover Released
On Friday, EA Sports added a countdown timer to their website that is due to expire on May 16 at 10 a.m. CDT, teasing an impending announcement when the countdown hits zeroes. That announcement is expected to reveal the standard cover and, possibly, a gameplay trailer.
Also today, Playstation seems to have unexpectedly leaked the deluxe edition cover, which features Texas QB, Quinn Ewers; Michigan RB, Donovan Edwards and Colorado WR/CB, Travis Hunter; along with a few other big names and teams. No Minnesota Gophers appearance, but it’s still possible they make the standard edition cover, so we’ll see.
They cooked pic.twitter.com/yZ0M2L9rYs
— EA College Football 25 Countdown (@DaysTillNCAA) May 10, 2024
This time around NCAA Football couldn’t be more different. Players will be compensated for their inclusion in the video game, and names will be immediately available when the product releases. Rather than number generated callouts, each individual player will be accessible on the depth chart. The Gophers have a new quarterback, and an exciting season should be expected to commence.
While the Madden game has reigned supreme for nearly a decade, thanks to NFL licensing rights and the unavailability of the collegiate version, it was always the latter game that was always praised year-after-year for a better and more enjoyable gameplay experience.
Not Everyone on Board With NCAA Football
Feeling like they may be able to earn larger NIL compensation elsewhere, compensation from EA Sports for NCAA Football 25 is not mandatory. Players were invited to opt into the game and given a set parameters for what the payout would look like. The hope from EA Sports is that a complete video game with exposure for each player would be enough, but obviously that wasn’t going to be sufficient for everyone involved.
Going forward there could be more significant players that hold out from game inclusion, but that would be reflective of schools with large NIL funds willing to compensate the best players well above what should be expected. From a video game perspective, creating a simple avatar shouldn’t command a massive expense, and the ability to market oneself on a virtual scale could provide future opportunities as well.
NCAA Football 25 is due out later this summer, and the return to the gridiron for a collegiate sport is expected to draw massive sales. Minnesota has brought in a handful of transfer recruits, and P.J. Fleck is looking to make waves in the Big Ten. Hopefully EA Sports is able to meet consumer expectations as they get back into the space.
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