College football fans have waited for years to see the return of the very popular EA Sports video game to make a return. It has been almost 10 years since the last one was made.
The franchise is set to return in the summer of 2024 and on Wednesday, ESPN reported that EA Sports will allow players to opt in to be included in the video game. Players who are in the game will be compensated for their likeness.
The partnership will include the chance for all eligible FBS players to opt in to have their likenesses in EA Sports College Football, the representative said. Those players will receive compensation for being placed in the game.
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.”
The report goes on to state that a player who doesn’t want to be included in the game will have a generic avatar and player in their place. Given the popularity of the franchise and video games among athletes, it is hard to imagine that many wouldn’t want to be in the game.