EA Sports to feature real college football players in new video game

Ten years after the release of NCAA Football 14 comes the return of the beloved video game franchise — this time with real college football players.

FBS players will finally be able to benefit from their name, image and likeness in the upcoming 2024 edition of the EA Sports game, sources told On3’s Pete Nakos. The company has contracted OneTeam Partners to facilitate college athletes’ likeness in the game, a $5 million cash pool that would pay out $500 per player.

ESPN was the first to report the news.

“We’ve wanted to feature collegiate athletes in a meaningful way from the start of our journey to bring an EA Sports college football experience back to our fans,” EA said in a statement. “We’re excited to have an agreement in place with OneTeam Partners that will enable us to include the names and likenesses of eligible collegiate football athletes at NCAA Division 1 Football Subdivision schools who opt-in to being featured in EA Sports College Football.”

EA announced in 2022 the popular video game series would be returning, giving a 2024 timetable for release back in November. The return comes following the start of NIL in July 2021, seven years after shutting down production of the game at the conclusion of the Ed O’Bannon lawsuit — the NCAA was sued for violating U.S. antitrust laws by not allowing student-athletes to earn money on their likeness in broadcasts and video games.

OneTeam has already been at the forefront of jersey customization and other likeness-driven deals with student-athletes, partnering with Fanatics last February to become a major player in the NIL era.

Over 120 of the 133 total FBS schools have committed to being in the game, including all FBS conferences and the College Football Playoff. And according to Matt Brown of Extra Points, thousands of image and audio assets have already been sent to EA, including that of mascots, cheerleaders, uniforms and historic school items. The company has even begun conducting on-site 3D scans of stadiums on college campuses.

Is Kentucky included among those 120 FBS schools? UK Athletics previously told KSR in 2021 it would be reviewing EA Sports’ proposal and called the return of the popular video game franchise ‘exciting.’

“It’s exciting that EA Sports is engaging in a college football game again,” said Jason Schlafer, UK Executive Associate Director of Athletics. “Currently, we are reviewing what they have proposed to our trademark licensing agency.”

Sources within the video game company told The Athletic in 2022 that they expect all 133 teams in the upcoming release of EA Sports College Football, set to come out next summer.

A return is officially right around the corner.