EA is preparing to release its first College Football EA Sports game since 2013 and has just confirmed that it will feature the names and likenesses of real college athletes. This is a significant change from previous games, which could not feature real players due to NCAA restrictions. However, EA recently announced that it has reached a deal to use player likenesses in the upcoming College Football EA Sports title.
EA College football the series started with College football Bill Walshreleased for the SNES, Sega Genesis and Sega CD in 1993. The series became an annual release, with EA changing the title to College football in the United States in 1996 and NCAA football in 1997. Because college football players are not professionals, the NCAA did not allow EA to use their real names, faces or numbers. However, players of NCAA football often bore a significant resemblance to their real-life inspirations. These similarities resulted in controversies and lawsuits that led to NCAA footballthe indefinite pause.
However, the series will return soon, with EA announcing new College Football EA Sports game in 2021. The company reached an agreement with the NCAA allowing it to use the likenesses of college athletes. Athletes must register if they wish to appear in the new College Football EA Sports game and will receive compensation for their appearance. Players who do not wish to appear in the game will have generic characters that take their place on the team.
On Wednesday, EA announced that it had hired athlete marketing company OneTeam Partners to “facilitate” athlete appearances in College Football EA Sports. The terms of the deal are reportedly still being finalized, so it’s unclear exactly how much each athlete will be paid or what structure those payments would take. However, an EA representative told ESPN that the company will try to be “as inclusive and fair as possible.” OneTeam also said it would try to base licensing payments on each athlete’s contribution to sales. If this cannot be calculated, then the license fee would be split equally among participating athletes.
Some athletes may also have their faces scanned for their appearance in the next EA. College football title. Unfortunately, this will not be possible for all participants due to the number of athletes involved. EA hopes that all schools participating in the College Football Playoff will be represented in the game. This means that so anticipated College Football EA Sports will include thousands of college football players.
Additionally, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Tulane, which had previously withdrawn from NCAA footballannounced that their teams would return in the new game. Notre Dame also reportedly spoke to EA about returning from school College Football EA Sports. However, the university has not yet decided whether its team will participate.
College Football EA Sports is in development.
Source: ESPN
