First Down Kentucky: Where will the Wildcats rank in the new EA Sports College Football Game?

“If it’s in the game, it’s in the game.” That is why EA Sports is planning to feature the Name, Image, and Likeness of student-athletes when they release College Football 25 this summer.

Matt Brown, who curates the Extra Points Newsletter, has been on the frontline reporting news about the highly-anticipated video game. Today he shared that NIL contracts have been sent out to 85 scholarship players on all 134 FBS teams.

Payers who sign the deal through a licensing app will receive $600 for the digital use of their Name, Image, and Likeness. In addition to the compensation, each player will get a digital copy of the video on the system of their choosing. They have until April 30 to agree to the deal, or they may have to wait for a roster update to appear on the video game.

Some players may receive further compensation from the company for promoting the game. You may see some of the sport’s stars opt out of the game, seeking a more lucrative deal, but I expect most will want to see their name attached to the iconic franchise.

One more thing: coaches will not be featured in the game. I doubt folks will be too unhappy that Mark Stoops isn’t on the sideline, but I imagine the creators will have someone on the sideline who doesn’t look too different than the Kentucky football head coach.

Kentucky Player Ratings for EA Sports College Football 25

Each summer the Madden player ratings are released under much scrutiny. The 99 Club is often up for debate. I collaborated with Daniel Hager to come up with estimates for some of Kentucky’s top players. Here’s what we think the UK roster will look like.

Deone Walker — 93
Barion Brown — 88
Jamon Dumas-Johnson — 88
Max Hairston — 87
JJ Weaver — 84
D’Eryk Jackson — 84
Dane Key — 83
Ja’Mori Maclin — 83
Brock Vandagriff — 79
Chip Trayanum — 78

SEC Mike and our friends at That SEC Podcast are a little more bullish on a few of the Wildcats.

What did we get right or wrong? Continue the conversation on KSBoard, the KSR Message Board. New members can try 1 month for $1.

The Voice of the Video Game

I had the pleasure of covering a couple of SEC Tournaments for KSR. Back in 2017, I bumped into Brad Nessler and thanked him for providing play-by-play to so many late nights of dynasty mode in my parent’s basement. Even though they were never a broadcasting team, Kirk Herbstreit provided color commentary alongside Nessler in the old video games.

Nessler has since moved from ESPN to CBS. For the new EA Sports College Football 25, Herbstriet and Chris Fowler confirmed that ESPN’s broadcasting A-team will provide voice-over work for the popular franchise. On3’s Pete Nakos reports Kevin Connors, Jesse Palmer, and David Pollack will also play a role in the game.

Meet the Kentucky Football Transfers

The ongoing series from the folks at UK Athletics continues with WR Ja’Mori Maclin and OT Gerald Mincey.

Meet the transfer: @routerunner9 pic.twitter.com/sz7l7Gnnu6

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) February 21, 2024

Meet the transfer: @GeraldMincey pic.twitter.com/Hos2G6yHx7

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) February 22, 2024

11 Personnel: Friday Edition

The Wednesday night basketball games throw a wrench into our podcasting schedule. Over the next two weeks Adam Luckett and I will be talking football on Friday afternoons. Next week’s show will be LIVE. from the NFL Combine after we speak with various Wildcats who are trying to climb up draft boards in Indy. Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel to receive notifications every time we go live.