Say goodbye to QB No. 1. Say hello to your favorite college football player.
According to ESPN's Michael Rothstein, players will be able to appear as themselves for the first time in EA Sports' NCAA Football revival, with NIL allowing them to be paid for their presence.
It's been a persistent question about the game's return after a decade on the sidelines, with fans wondering if players would be able to finally have their names on-screen. Them being inserted and being paid is a side effect of college sports' Name Image and Likeness rights.
Per Rothstein, an EA Sports representative said they're seeking to be "as inclusive and equitable as possible" with regards to compensation.
The partnership between EA Sports and OneTeam will see many players getting their faces scanned in, although that will not be universal due to the sheer number of college athletes. It will also be an opt-in that, should players decline, would see them replaced with a random avatar a la the previous iterations of the game.
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EA Sports college football release date
The NCAA Football franchise revival doesn't have a definitive release date yet, but it is slated for the summer of 2024. The last edition of the game, NCAA Football 14, was released in July 2013.
Because EA Sports is building the game from the ground up rather than taking the Madden route and reskinning a previous version of a game, it made for a later release date.
"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."
Now, with NIL firmly in place, the road to adding players is open. With the deal between EA Sports and OneTeam, that hurdle appears to be cleared.
Robert Griffin III had some fun input on the game before NIL.
EA Sports College Football comes out NEXT SUMMER, FBS players can opt in to have their names/likeness in the game and GET PAID FOR IT, per @mikerothstein I remember being a White QB with dreads from Montana with no arm sleeve one year and Hawaiian the next. Those days are gone. pic.twitter.com/LkZ2sLHpZf
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) May 17, 2023
This will be the most anticipated sports game release in ages, both due to the hiatus and now because of the addition of player likenesses. That's a lot of pressure on the team designing it. So it makes sense they want to take their time.
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What is NIL in college sports?
NIL stands for Name, Image, and Likeness, and it is a system by which college athletes can receive compensation for things like autographs, appearances, commercials, and in this case video game likenesses.
Introduced in June 2021, it has led to myriad of changes across the college sports landscape, including the ability to be paid to play for schools, something that had been officially banned.
Per the NCAA website, NIL reformed college athletics in the following ways:
- Athletes can engage in NIL activities in compliance with state laws, and colleges can be a resource for NIL legal questions.
- Athletes can use professional service providers to help navigate NIL activities.
- Student-athletes in states without NIL laws can still engage in such activities without violating NCAA rules.
- States, individual colleges and athletic conferences may impose reporting requirements.