NIL’s Full-Circle Moment 🎮

02/23/2024

By: Jeff Yoder

EA Sports Offers College Football Players $600 to Opt-In for New Video Game

A decade later… It all started with Ed O’Bannon and the name, image and likeness (NIL) lawsuit to rule them all in 2009. That antitrust shockwave rocked a generation of college athletics (and video gamers) and sparked a decade of unprecedented changes. Now, the return of the iconic college football video game is drawing hype, and the details are beginning to emerge. News broke yesterday that EA Sports is offering college football players $600 to be featured in the new EA College Football 25. There are roughly 11,000 players across 134 FBS teams. And while EA (Electronic Arts) has plenty of details to sort through (and get right), it’s a full-circle moment for NIL. Let’s discuss.

How Video Games Paved the Way

Almost every Millenial sports fan can remember playing college sports video games back in the early 2000s and 2010s. You could kill a few hours after class playing with friends in your college dorm room or grinding through a season with your favorite college team. I remember it well. It was a simpler time. I also remember writing a college paper on the Ed O’Bannon lawsuit in 2009. Little did I know how the next 15 years would transpire.

The Lawsuit That Changed Everything

O’Bannon, a former UCLA basketball player, sued the NCAA, EA and the Collegiate Licensing Company for using his name, image and likeness, without his permission or compensation, in the college basketball video game produced by EA Sports. As the lead plaintiff, O’Bannon flipped the NCAA upside down and became the face of a generational shift in how businesses and universities can classify and utilize student-athletes. In 2014, five years later, a federal court ruled in O’Bannon’s favor, causing an overhaul in antitrust laws for the three organizations involved. EA Sports stopped producing its NCAA College Basketball video game in 2009. And NCAA College Football 2014 was the last rendition of the football game ever released. The latter’s long-awaited return has been set for Summer 2024 with an official reveal in May.

Opting In (Or Out) of an Epic Comeback

While the release details are still murky, the game’s cult following is certainly excited to see news and info about EA’s developers making progress. A $600 check isn’t much for a Division I football player, but seeing yourself in a video game? Priceless… Maybe. There appears to be a lot of interest among most players, but plenty of the top stars in the sport are expected to opt-out. EA will have to fill opted-out players with generic avatars and fake names, making the game slightly less desirable, but rules are rules. Coaches will also be presented with the option to be part of the game. It appears this is just step one in a long list of safety measures as we get closer to the epic release. EA also announced that it will block gamers from modifying the game, so modders can’t include or add players who didn’t opt in.

Whether you’re a gamer or not, expect to see more news surrounding this iconic relaunch in the months ahead. A decade without a college football video game has left a void among enthusiasts, and there’s a nostalgia factor for many college football fans in their 30s and 40s (myself included). It’s on its way back, and that’s a full-circle moment after the last decade of the NIL whirlwind. Cue the crowd noise…

EA Sports College Football 25 Teaser Trailer (Released Last Week)

ESPN: NIL, Realignment & Everything to Know About the New EA Sports College Football Game

AP News: EA Sports CFB25 to Block Gamers From Manually Adding Players Who Reject NIL Opt-In

Image via @EASportsCollege Twitter