For the first time since 2014, EA Sports is releasing a college sports video game. They have not been able to due to NCAA rules, where players cannot profit off their name, image, and likeness. Now, they are able to profit from their NIL from sponsors of schools to mixed feelings from colleges and fans. On one end, it’s good for the players so they don’t have to worry about not going to the pro level to get money. On the other hand, it promotes a pay-to-play type market for college athletes which can be terrible for the game. But, we can also get cool stuff like video games.

Teams and Conferences

The only information that we know about NCAA Football is that the top 134 FBS schools will be featured in some sort of way. And the FCS Schools will most likely not be placed into the game via licensing issues. The College Football Playoff bracket will also take place in the game, with the new 12-team format which can be aligned with anything the user believes should be in the game scenario. Same with the conferences, as there will be plenty of movement as Texas and Oklahoma debut in the Southeastern Conference. The more notable conferences like

Conference USA, Big 12, Big 10, ACC, American, MAC, Mountain West, and the remains of the PAC-12 will be in the game. Independent schools will be featured but without a conference of course.

Players’ and Coaches’ licenses

There has been some good news and bad news about name-image and license contracts. The good news is that most players will opt-in, and will receive $600 and a free copy of the game as has been offered for every player on the roster. However, coaches in the game will not be represented. Which stings, for those people who would love to do gameplay or rebuild with smaller programs. 

For the players that won’t opt-in, they will either have a generated name and a completely different appearance than in real life. This is not unprecedented as Michael Jordan and Barry Bonds have been replaced in previous video games. The big reason why some players wouldn’t agree to terms is because they believe the terms aren’t enough to be in the game. This would make sense for a star player who has a good shot at the NFL, but most would just take the money and run since they know that free money always helps.

My Take on the Future of the Game

I’m honestly really ecstatic and thrilled that they even brought this concept back to light. With all the rumors coming out about this game, there have only been good things to say. With Electronic Art’s reputation, it’ll be a wild card in what you get. This could either be a really good video game and kickstart a new era of college sports games, or it could be just another video game clunker released by Electronic Arts. I personally think it will be good but I really couldn’t predict this until actual gameplay releases, expect a review on this from me when it releases in July.