For a decade, college football fans and video game connoisseurs alike have endured an arduous and sometimes seemingly hopeless wait for the return of the “EA College Football” series.Since EA Sports revealed that the series would once again be available, details have started to emerge in recent days and weeks surrounding the game and its release.On Feb. 15, EA Sports put out a trailer for “EA Sports College Football 25,” with multiple renderings of the game featured in the 93-second video. While no specific date has been made public, the game will hit shelves sometime this summer.EA last released a college football video game in 2013, when it came out with “NCAA Football 14.” Since then, it hasn’t put out newer versions of the game following a lawsuit led by former UCLA men’s basketball star Ed O’Bannon that argued EA and the NCAA were wrongfully profiting off of the name, image and likeness of athletes. O’Bannon won the suit, with courts agreeing that the NCAA not paying athletes for the use of their name, image and likeness was a violation of federal antitrust law.
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The hold-up in the game’s return was largely on the NCAA, not O’Bannon’s litigation. EA said in a court filing that it would be fine with paying players for their inclusion in the game, but the NCAA at the time was unwilling to bend its rules on athletes being able to profit from such an arrangement, thus signaling the game’s death until the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous 2021 decision in NCAA v. Alston opened up the possibility for a return.
On Thursday, new details have surfaced about the game and what it will include. Here’s everything you need to know about those:
What teams will be in EA Sports College Football 25?
If you love the variety of teams that college football has to offer at the FBS level, from the SEC to the sport’s smallest conferences, you’re in luck.
On Thursday, EA announced that all 134 FBS teams will be featured in the game, meaning a football fan in Tennessee, for example, could play with any of the state’s four FBS programs – Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Memphis and Middle Tennessee.
Will there be broadcasters in EA Sports College Football 25?
Indeed, some of the most recognizable voices in college football will help provide the soundtrack for the game’s action.
Both members of ESPN’s primary broadcast team, play-by-play man Chris Fowler and analyst Kirk Herbstreit, have confirmed they will be taking part in the game. Additionally, analysts Jesse Palmer and David Pollack, as well as broadcaster Kevin Connors, have announced their participation.
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Will players be paid for appearing in EA Sports College Football 25?
Beginning Thursday, more than 11,000 college football players can opt to appear in the game.
Not only will they receive whatever attention comes with it and get the opportunity to play as themselves, but they’ll be paid to do so. All athletes who agree to have their name, image and likeness used in the game will receive $600, as well as a copy of the game, which is valued at $70.
Those players can remain in the game for their entire careers or can choose to opt out of future versions. Athletes who remain in the game will be paid annually for their inclusion. Players who transfer will continue to receive compensation as long as they remain on a roster of a team featured in the game.
The payouts are similar to what EA does for athletes in their Madden NFL, NHL and soccer video games.
“We feel very proud that we’ll be the largest program, likely the highest-spending program,” EA Sports vice president of business development Sean O’Brien said to ESPN. “And really an inclusive opportunity with an equitable distribution of funds across the board.”
O’Brien added that EA plans to pay athletes from other men’s and women’s college sports to help promote the game.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: ‘EA Sports College Football 25’: What teams and announcers will be in the video game?
