EA is offering 11,000+ players $600 to opt into appearing in EA Sports College Football

EA is asking more than 11,000 college football players to opt into being included in the EA Sports College Football roster, with a guaranteed payout of $600.

As reported by ESPN, the publisher has started sending contracts to players in the hope that they will agree to be included in its upcoming title EA Sports College Football 25.

The game will include all 134 schools in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the NCAA, with all 134 agreeing to be officially licensed. Up to 85 players per school will be included in the game’s rosters.

However, in the past college athletes were prohibited from being compensated for the use of their names, images or likenesses under NCAA rules, meaning previous college sports games have had to go without real player names.

This changed in 2021 after the US Supreme Court decided that the NCAA’s rules stopping athletes from making a profit from their own names violated federal antitrust law.

Since EA’s last college football game before this was NCAA Football 14, this means College Football 25 will include real player names and images for the first time in a college football game – as long as the players opt in.

Usually, acquiring name and likeness rights for professional sports games requires less administrative work than this. Publishers often secure agreements with labour unions such as FIFPro, NFLPA, NBPA, NHLPA or MLBPA to acquire the rights to entire swathes of players in one move.

Because college sports are amateur sports, however, and because the NCAA’s new deal means players do their own deals, EA is now in the process of sending contracts to the more than 11,000 players set to be added to its game’s rosters, asking them to opt in.

If a player agrees, they will be paid $600 plus a free copy of the game. If they remain a college player the following season and appear in a potential College Football 26 next year, they will be paid again. Players aren’t expected to perform any additional tasks for this money, and the payout is guaranteed regardless of whether the game is a success.

EA will also be planning more than 100 separate deals for specific athletes – presumably those who are the best players or have the largest followings – to work with EA Sports on promoting the game, be that via social media posts, on-campus promotions, ads or being the cover star.

If a player chooses not to opt in, they will be replaced by a generic player whose stats will be based on the general strengths and weaknesses of players in their position at that school for the past decade.

EA Sports senior vice president Daryl Holt told ESPN that users won’t simply be able to edit the real names of opted-out players into the game.

“I won’t reveal how we’re dealing with that,” he said, “but yeah, you won’t be able to edit that.”

A teaser trailer last week announced that College Football 25 will be released in the summer, with a full reveal set to take place in May.