College football players will be featured in an EA Sports video game for the first time

College football players will be in the new EA Sports College Football for the first time. Here’s what you need to know.

• EA Sports confirmed in a statement that EA Sports has contracted with OneTeam for volume licensing the athlete. ESPN first reported the news.
• Partnership allows players to participate in the game using their name, image and likeness. Revenue distribution for players is not specified.
• The college football video game was discontinued after NCAA Football ’14 due to lawsuits regarding players’ name, image, and likeness in the game.
• The new game is scheduled for release in the summer of 2024.

what are they saying

“We’ve wanted to feature college athletes in a meaningful way since the beginning of our journey to bring back the EA Sports college football experience to our fans,” the company said in a statement. “We are excited to reach an agreement with OneTeam Partners that will enable us to include the names and uniforms of eligible football players eligible at NCAA Division 1 Football Subdivision schools who choose to appear in EA Sports College Football.”

background story

The most famous debate and lawsuit over name, image and likeness was Ed O’Bannon’s lawsuit over players’ appearance, jersey numbers and characteristics that appeared in video games without their real names and without compensation. O’Bannon didn’t want to end the game, he wanted to allow the players in the game to get compensation, but NCAA amateur rules didn’t allow that, so the game ended in a settlement amid fear of further litigation.

In 2021, NIL rules came into effect, allowing players to take advantage of their appearance, opening the door for the game’s return. EA Sports announced in February 2021 that the game would return, then fell silent without details. Report via the athlete Other outlets have confirmed that the game will include real players once it secures a volume licensing partnership and releases in the summer of 2023, based on what EA tells schools. But by November, EA announced that the game would instead be released in 2024 as it worked to secure all of the many assets needed for the game, including music, T-shirts, stadiums, and more.

What does this mean?

It was the last and biggest hurdle for the match to happen. Players can simply sign an agreement to be in the game, and many but not all players can scan their faces, like the NFL players at Madden. OneTeam has worked with EA Sports on mass licensing for other sports. If the player opts out, a generic player and avatar will be used instead. Barry Bonds wasn’t in the old MVP Baseball video game series, and instead the fictional “John Dowd” filled in.

More than 120 of FBS’s 133 schools have committed to being allowed to participate in the game through the Collegiate Licensing Company, but EA Sports sources said. the athlete Last year they were projecting to have all 133 teams. An expanded playoff game is also likely for College Football, as is a transfer gate, which is likely similar to free agency in professional sports. The game is expected to only be available on next generation consoles such as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. After a decade, the game is finally making a comeback.

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(Photo: Edward Linsmeier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)