More than 14,000 players were set for a nice payday just so EA could use their names and likeness in College Football 26.
College football games were discontinued after NCAA 14 in 2013 due to legal issues surrounding the names and likenesses of unpaid college athletes in the game.
In 2021, the NIL made a new policy, which allows athletes to profit from their names, image and likeness. This paved the way for EA to pay college football players $600 to be included in College Football 25.
The 11-year hiatus paid dividends as CFB 25 exceeded expectations and later became the all-time best-selling sports video game in US history in dollar sales. It is unclear how the revenue of the game was generated but later the sensation was hit.
College Football 26 paid over $16 Million Just for Athletes.
The Athletic reported that EA Sports will pay $1,500 each from NIL for College Football 26. This is double the original amount of $600 and some players will get up to $3,000 if there are higher-profile players or athletes.
EA paid around 11,00 players for CFB 25 and the Athletic reported that there will be a total same for CFB 26. This means EA will spend more than $16.5 million just for the names and likeness deals.
College Football 26 will be launching in the summer of 2025. As in the past College Football 25 was launched in July 19, so we can expect it to launch during same time but there are no official news so these are just speculations lets wait until any official announcement arrives.
Read More: How to Watch Call of Duty League Major 2