National College Football Awards Association Opts Out of EA CFB 25
First reported by Pete Nakos of On3, the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) has decided to decline the offer from EA SPORTS and opt out of EA SPORTS College Football 25 citing what they perceive as an unfair contract offer.
From On3: “[The offer] was not something that was representative of any either major awards, assigning image rights and usage rights to a game which we all believe is going to be very popular and going to sell a lot of copies based on past history,” [said NCFAA president Mark] Wolpert, who is also the executive director of the Maxwell Football Club, said. “There’s an appetite for that game. And if brands are going to be represented there, we want to be compensated properly."
Some of the awards that will not be included in the game are the "Bednarik, Biletnikoff, Davey O’Brien, Doak Walker, Groza, Jim Thorpe, Maxwell, Outland, and Ray Guy" per On3. EA SPORTS has publicly stated The Heisman Trophy WILL be in EA SPORTS College Football 25, so it appears The Heisman Trust still maintains the image and usage rights for the award, not the NCFAA. It is currently unknown if any other awards possess those same rights.
Many NCFAA-member awards were in the NCAA Football franchise, but appear destined to be represented as generic 'Top [Position]' awards in EA CFB 25. Will this detract from your experience? Share your thoughts with the community below and continue on to see the list of awards that appear to be excluded.
Courtesy On3:
EA Sports did not respond to multiple requests for comment. [NCFAA president Mark] Wolpert told On3 the awards were previously undervalued. However, the going thought was the exposure was worth being included in the game. He declined to give specifics on the new offer for the awards but called it a “nominal increase based on the 2014 number.”
“It was not something that was representative of any either major awards, assigning image rights and usage rights to a game which we all believe is going to be very popular and going to sell a lot of copies based on past history,” Wolpert, who is also the executive director of the Maxwell Football Club, said. “There’s an appetite for that game. And if brands are going to be represented there, we want to be compensated properly. So when I explained that to the EA rep, the response came back to me that if we choose not to do that, they’ll just make their own awards up and put them in the game.
“My thought at that time was, ‘Well, you have approached us about the importance of authenticity in the game, yet you’re very quick to dismiss awards, some of which have existed for eight decades. So how is the game authentic when you don’t have the authentic awards in it?'”
Quotes and some information courtesy Pete Nakos & On3: https://www.on3.com/os/news/national...e-football-25/
Here are the awards currently listed as part of the NCFAA:
- Bednarik Award (defensive player)
- Biletnikoff Award (receiver)
- Bronko Nagurski Trophy (defensive player)
- Broyles Award (assistant coach)
- Burlsworth Trophy (player who began his career as a walk-on)
- Butkus Award (linebacker)
- Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback)
- Disney Spirit Award (inspirational player, team or figure)
- Doak Walker Award (running back)
- Eddie Robinson Award (national coach of the year)
- George Munger Award (head coach)
- Heisman Trophy (outstanding player) [*-Confirmed by EA as being in EA CFB 25]
- John Mackey Award (tight end)
- Lou Groza Award (place-kicker)
- Maxwell Award (best player)
- Outland Trophy presented by NFID (interior lineman)
- Paul Hornung Award (most versatile)
- Paycom Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back)
- Ray Guy Award (punter)
- Rimington Trophy (center)
- Stallings Award (humanitarian coach)
- Walter Camp Award (player of the year)
- William V. Campbell Trophy (scholar-athlete, "academic Heisman")
- Wuerffel Trophy (exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement)
(Note: Wikipedia lists the Uplifting Athletes Award (player impacting rare disease research) as being part of the NCFAA, but it is not currently listed on the ncfaa.org website.)
On the flip side, are there any awards that are not members of the NCFAA that could be in the game? This list appears to include:
- AP Player of the Year
- The Jet Award (best returner)
- Joe Moore Award (best offensive line)
- Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (Top upperclassman quarterback)
- Lombardi Award (Outstanding college football lineman)
- Lott IMPACT Trophy (Defensive IMPACT player of the year)
- Shaun Alexander Award (Freshman of the Year, judged by Maxwell Club)*
- Sporting News Coach of the Year
- Sporting News Player of the Year
- Ted Hendricks Award (Top defensive end)
[* - With Wolpert being director of the Maxwell Club, this award is likely off-limits to EA.]
