The Effect of NCAA 25 on College Athletes

By Evren Khan

A Promising Example of NIL Deals Impact on College Athletes

NCAA 25 game cover

For many people, it is a dream to be featured in their favorite sports video game, but for college athletes, this is now a reality. The game in question is NCAA 25, also known as College Football 25. The game has been developed by the videogame company EA, Electronic Arts, and is set to release in the summer of 2024. The game is receiving press for its impressive selection of college football players featured in-game. To have an expansive player selection, EA offered over 11,000 student-athletes a feature in the game if they were in one of the 134 schools in the Division One Football Bowl Subdivision or FBS. The offer consisted of a 600 dollar payment and a copy of the game on either X Box or Playstation to an athlete that accepts the offer. This is a NIL deal, which stands for Name, Image, and Likeness, which means EA can use the player’s features and names in-game. EA’s target is the top 85 scholarship athletes at each school, but depth charts with non-scholarship athletes are also considered.

The deals of College Football 25 show the change of the last few years. In 2014, EA was sued by the NCAA for using players' names, images, and likenesses in games. EA lost the lawsuit and was forced to pay around 29,000 players an average of 1,200 dollars. As of now, the wall between players and deals made by the NCAA is gone and College Football 25 is living proof of this. College sports are now in a state where players do not need to choose between deals with brands and playing in the NCAA. There is also a lot of hype building for the release as there has not been a college football game since 2013.

As of June 2021, NCAA players were allowed to profit from their publicity, an important leap in college sports. Previous to the new legislation, athletes felt like the NCAA “owned” their rights to publicity and finance. With new changes in place, there are many major benefits of NIL deals, but most notably, is the support of athletes and their families. NIL deals make this happen through jersey sales, personal merchandise, and brand connections. Paying college athletes is a popular opinion, and according to Forbes, “Nearly 70% of U.S. adults said college athletes should be able to receive direct compensation from their school when asked.” With the strong support and benefits of deals with brands and games for college athletes, hopefully, NIL deals persist so that players can use their favorite athletes in video games, and athletes can be compensated likewise.