Since NIL was introduced to college athletics in 2021, the policy has been a topic of discussion across the country as athletes across all collegiate sports compete for their own piece of this massive pie. The sport that the NIL has hit hardest is obviously, college football.
Recruitment has pretty much turned into NFL free agency over the past two years, with the 2023 offseason being the busiest cycle in NFL history. NCAA Transfer Portal.
NIL did, however, bring hope to the group of college football fans who had been patiently awaiting the return of EA Sports’ wildly popular NCAA CFB video game, which was last released in 2013 before the game was shut down due to the absence of players. name, image and likeness issues. The new policy appears to resolve this issue, as players can now profit from their own image, and the game is now expected to release in 2024.
NIL brought the NCAA CFB video game franchise back to life, but he is now an obstacle to its return, as are the players now. would have considered resisting zero payments. In May, On3 announced that the total compensation for players opting into the video game would be around $5 million, meaning each player would receive around $500.
Although $500 seems like fair compensation – given that college athletes are paid to appear in a video game – the idea of a holdout comes from the upper echelon of college football players. The big-name athletes have discussed that their fee should be higher than the initial amount because their name, image and likeness are what attract fans to the video game.
According to The 3, Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels could “definitely see” a holdout on the horizon.
“Yes. Yes. I can definitely see it,” Daniels told reporters. “I could definitely see it, especially with the best college football players in the country right now. If they’re paid like, you know, someone that a lot of people don’t really know and they’re the most famous person in college football, I can definitely see their agent saying, “Alright, what’s going on here?”
Another Jayhawk, running back Devin Neal, said he thought the initial $500 check was enough.
“Honestly, I think $500 is a pretty good amount,” Neal said.
And other players, like UAB Blazers defensive tackle Fish McWilliams, believe that simply appearing in the video game is payment enough.
“Obviously, just getting the video game itself back would be fine with me,” McWilliams said. “I appreciate the NIL for the NCAA game. But I really just want to play the video game and get it back online because it’s been gone for almost 10 years now.
Fans and gamers have certainly felt the absence of one of the most beloved video game franchises in recent history. Unfortunately, there is a chance they will have to continue waiting.
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