ORLANDO, Fla. — When EA Sports announced the return of its college football video game series, one of the biggest questions was how the new game would handle names, images and likenesses.
These legal questions about rights were the reason the game disappeared after 2013 in the first place, when NCAA rules prevented players from receiving money from EA. The relaxation of NIL rules in 2021 is also one of the reasons the game is back and finally allows the use of real players.
But NIL has changed dramatically since EA Sports announced the game's return in February 2021. The organization has emerged as a key player in roster management for top programs. New court-mandated transfer rules created de facto free agency. The NCAA tightened, then relaxed, its rules, and now allows schools to facilitate connections between backers and current players. A preliminary injunction against the NCAA paved the way for backers to talk to recruits.
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So what about video games? NIL is included in College Football 25, but in the various game modes differently. It's not included as part of the recruiting process in Dynasty mode, but is included as an opportunity (and risk) for individual players in Road to Glory mode. Gamers don't get caught up in blatant bidding wars or cheating over players.
“We know this is a hot topic,” lead game designer Ben Haumiller told reporters last week. “It's a difficult one for us because the situation is changing so quickly.”
In Dynasty mode, “brand exposure” replaces TV exposure as an incentive to acquire players and acts as a replacement for NILs. Because the process of building game features is long and involves a lot of work, the company didn't want to create a structure that would quickly become outdated. Additionally, NCAA rules still don't allow pay-for-play contracts.
“When we started this, schools were not supposed to be brokering deals with third parties or talking to prospective buyers,” Haumiller said. “As we've looked into this, we've decided that we don't want to create a situation where you're the one deciding how much you're going to pay for your child. We're going to calm this down a little bit.”
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However, NIL does impact Road to Glory mode, a returning game mode in which players enroll in college as freshmen (at one of the following positions: quarterback, running back, middle linebacker, or cornerback) and experience four years of college experience (five years if they redshirt a season with four games or less). The player's weekly experience includes training, academics, leadership, and branding decisions.
Your “brand” and NIL opportunities may vary depending on which school you play for. Players have set hours during game week, so you must choose between working on your schoolwork or accepting a brand deal that will benefit your player. No created player can max out everything, so this is a choose-your-own-adventure challenge with different paths to follow, explained Director of Production Christian McLeod.
“Why are NIL deals important? They're important because they give you unique in-game boosts that allow for specific stat increases across multiple games,” he said. “So there's a really interesting dynamic here of where you spend your energy. … There's no right or wrong answer here. Each of these has its own unlocks. Each has its own pros and cons. It's up to you to decide what you value most.”
These skill boosts are similar to previous versions of the game, where there were career or single-match boosts that players could earn based on points earned in practice. However, if you don't spend enough time on your schoolwork, you can be deemed academically ineligible. (Don't worry, you don't actually have to take the test yourself.)
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The transfer portal exists in Road to Glory just like in Dynasty mode, and you can transfer up to four times in four years if you wish. That's the actual rule, after all. NIL opportunities are a factor to consider here as well. Suitors will see questions you answered at the beginning of your recruiting at the start of the game. You can also put teammates in the portal.
College football has entered a new world, where NIL rules change every few months. Soon, players from powerful conferences will benefit from revenue sharing, but this is another aspect that EA developers need to iron out in future versions of the game. But for now, in this first version of the new college football game, the NIL feature is basic by design.
“This time next year we may be talking about a cohort on campus,” Haumiller said, “so we wanted to find the right way to recognize NIL.”
(Screenshots courtesy of EA Sports)
