It has legitimately been a decade since we got the last iteration of EA Sports’ NCAA Football video game. Denard Robinson was on the cover — that’s how long it’s been.
When we got the news that the game was finally coming back after the NCAA solved its name, image and likeness problem by finally allowing players to be paid by outside sources, fans were all thrilled about it.
Rightfully so. We were all finally getting the video game back that we grew up on. If we’re being sincere, there hasn’t been a good football video game since NCAA 14 dropped.
The pot just got even sweeter, though.
Though we were getting our game back, there was a bit of a snag in that the game still needed to be able to have the license to use every individual player’s likeness to make the game happen.
Lo and behold, EA Sports has reportedly found a way.
For the game’s return in 2024, EA is working with a company called OneTeam Partners to reportedly “facilitate collegiate athletes’ names and likenesses” into the game, according to a report Wednesday from ESPN.
Essentially, FBS players will be given the opportunity to opt-in to being part of the game. Each player will be able to choose whether they’d like to have their likeness included in the game or not. They will be paid for it if they choose to participate.
Here’s more:
Details — such as how much an athlete will receive and the structure of payments — are still being finalized, but the EA Sports representative said the goal is to be “as inclusive and equitable as possible.” On the OneTeam website, the company stated that if the influence of individual sales couldn’t be figured out — including for video game licensing — then “revenue will be divided equally among the athletes included in each licensing program.”
It’s happening, y’all. Not only are we getting the players back in the game, but the days of referring to, say, Tim Tebow as QB #15 are over. Huzzah.
Fans of the gaming franchise were absolutely pumped to hear this news.