UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers was among the first wave of players around the country to officially opt in for the return of EA Sports’ college football video game franchise.
“College Football 25,” which is expected to be released this summer, will be the first installment of the game since “NCAA Football 14” was released in July 2013.
Garbers and others, including Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter, were among those who took to social media Thursday with graphics promoting the game and announcing their inclusion along with the hashtag “#EAAthlete.”
According to ESPN, players who opt in will receive $600 and a free copy of the video game ($70 value) and up to 85 players per school will initially appear on rosters.
The company announced all 134 FBS schools will be included in the game, in addition to the likes of media personalities Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Jesse Palmer.
John Reseburg, vice president of global marketing, communications and partnerships for EA Sports, announced Thursday that more than 5,000 college athletes in less than 12 hours have decided to opt in.
It is the first time college athletes will have their name, image and likeness (NIL) officially licensed for the video game franchise, which was discontinued after the release of “NCAA Football 14.”
The return of the popular franchise comes after the NCAA’s decade-long battle over college athletes’ NIL rights. It started with former UCLA men’s basketball player Ed O’Bannon’s antitrust class action lawsuit against the NCAA in regard to NIL use for commercial purposes.
O’Bannon discovered his likeness from the Bruins’ 1995 national championship team was being used for an unnamed avatar on the EA Sports video game “NCAA Basketball 09.”
Likewise, the college football iteration of the game featured unnamed avatars with similarities in height and weight attached to the jersey numbers of their real-life counterparts, and for out-of-state players the similarities stretched as far as the precise preset home state in each avatar’s bio. Users had the ability to edit the rosters and input the real-life names.
The lawsuit led to college football and college basketball video games being discontinued.
In September 2019, California Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) authored a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that granted athletes in the state the right to profit off NIL.
In June 2021, the NCAA adopted an interim NIL policy. Since then, athletes across the country have done advertisements and commercials, both big and small, including UCLA backup quarterback and two-time NIL male athlete of the year Chase Griffin.
On Feb. 15, EA Sports released a teaser for the return of the game that was filmed at UCLA’s home Rose Bowl stadium.
