The highly anticipated EA Sports College Football game coming next year will be able to use actual players’ likenesses, according to a report from ESPN.
What’s new in EA Sports College Football?
In the report, ESPN spoke with an EA Sports representative, who confirmed that the developer had contracted OneTeam Partners to help “facilitate collegiate athletes’ names and likenesses” into the game. This answers one of the biggest questions surrounding the game since its announcement in 2021.
According to ESPN, it’s currently unclear how compensation will work for players who opt into being in the game. EA Sports did note, however, that their goal is to be “as inclusive and equitable as possible.” On OneTeam’s website, the company notes that if no compensation regarding individual game sales could be reached, then “revenue will be divided equally among the athletes included in each licensing program.”
The news marks a huge milestone for the series, as previously EA Sports was unable to use players names and likenesses, instead just showcasing their number and position under their player models and in-game menus. At the time of EA Sports College Football’s original announcement, EA Sports confirmed that player names and likenesses still wouldn’t be included.
Since then, however, the conversation for compensation for collegiate athletes across the country has shifted dramatically, leading to the change.
Currently, it’s unclear just how players will be added into the game, however, as the FBS (NCAA Division 1 Football Bowl Subdivision) contains tens of thousands of student-athletes in totality. Late last year, EA Sports said the game would release sometime in 2024.
