EA Sports is committed to having players earn NIL money from the revival of the College football video game series.
According to ESPN’s Michael Rothstein, the revival of EA Sports’ NCAA Football game will feature players appearing as themselves for the first time, thanks to the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights that allow them to be compensated for their presence in the game. This has been a long-standing question for fans since the game’s hiatus, wondering if players would finally have their names on-screen. The inclusion of players and their payment is a direct result of the evolving landscape of college sports and NIL rights.
“If you look back on where we were talking in 2021, that road was blocked,” EA Sports’ Daryl Holt said of adding players to the game in November 2022, per ESPN. “I think I even said something to the fact that we were passengers on this journey, just like anyone else.”
EA Will Allow Players to Opt-in
EA Sports has expressed their commitment to being “inclusive and equitable” when it comes to compensating players, as stated by a representative. The partnership between EA Sports and OneTeam will involve scanning the faces of many players to
accurately represent them in the game. However, due to the large number of college athletes, not every player will have their face scanned. The participation of players in this process will be optional, and those who decline will be replaced with random avatars, similar to previous iterations of the game.
While a definitive release date for the revival of the NCAA Football franchise has not been announced yet, it is scheduled for the summer of 2024. The previous edition of the game, NCAA Football 14, was released in July 2013. The decision to build the game from the ground up, rather than building off of a previous version as the Madden series does, has contributed to the later release date. With the establishment of NIL rules, the path to including players in the game has now been cleared through the partnership between EA Sports and OneTeam.
The Most Anticipated Sports Game Release Ever?
The return of NCAA Football is highly anticipated, both due to the extended hiatus and the addition of player likenesses. The team working on the game faces significant pressure as they strive to meet the expectations of fans. Consequently, it is understandable that they want to take their time in the development process to ensure a successful and highly anticipated release. Either way, this is one of the highest anticipated sport game releases in recent memory, and it will soon take the sporting nation by storm.
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