Headlines

Lowe's has announced a collaboration with EA SPORTS that will see the company featured in College Football 26, Madden NFL 26, and EA SPORTS FC 26.

Via press release: In EA SPORTS College Football 26, Lowe's will be featured on the broadcast overlay of the popular Stadium Pulse placement. The Stadium Pulse dynamically showcases and builds crowd excitement as gameplay improves, drawing meaningful parallels to the passion homeowners feel when enhancing their own spaces with Lowe's.

Some in the community have taken this partnership to imply that College Gameday will not be in College Football 26 since it's corporate sponsor is Home Depot, a direct competitor of Lowe's.

Read the full press release here. ...

In this edition of the TGT Podcast, cdj and gschwendt talk about the EA SPORTS College Football 26 cover shoot leaks, who many have leaked it, increased player payments in CFB 26, when fans can expect more CFB 26 info, and more.

Follow the link to watch the Video Podcast and share your thoughts on the show along with future topics.

The Gaming Tailgate Podcast is also available on YouTube Music, Spotify, iTunes, and anywhere you listen to podcasts. ...

First reported by The Athletic, EA SPORTS will pay players $1,500 plus a copy of the game for them to appear in College Football 26. Players were paid $600 and a copy of the game to be in College Football 25.

An increase in pay was considered possibly, if not likely, following the massive success of CFB 25. This amount also matches what Pathway Sports and Entertainment - a new company looking to ne involved with player negotiations in video games - promised to pay players who sign with them. However, OneTeam Partners has an exclusive deal with players for 25 & 26, so Pathway will not be involved in talks until College Football 27. Players who have signed with them will get the $1,500 from EA for being in CFB 26 and the $1,500 for being with Pathway. ...

Via tubbycfb (IG) by way of On3, we have a purported first look at the Deluxe Edition cover of College Football 26.

On Wednesday, current collegiate players, past players, current coaches, and mascots were at the Rose Bowl for a CFB 26 photoshoot according to Peke Nakos of On3.

Courtesy On3: Sources told On3 that Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood, Florida quarterback DJ Lagway, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams, Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt and South Carolina EDGE Dylan Stewart were all in attendance.

EA College Football plans to release multiple covers in 2026, sources said, explaining why so many athletes were in Pasadena. That will also reportedly include a coaches’ cover, with Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Penn State’s James Franklin, Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin, Oregon’s Dan Lanning and Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham participating.

A legends cover is reportedly in the works, too, with former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow participating in the photoshoot.

The inclusion of current coaches is noteworthy as it strongly implies that at least some real-life coaches may be appearing in the title, a first for the franchise. ...

Title update 1.023 is now available for EA SPORTS College Football 25. The update comes in at 424.9 MB on PS5.

Courtesy CFB Direct on X, the key addition in this update featured tuning to the option pitch mechanic:

Today’s update features a boost to option based offenses with tuning to the pitch mechanic.
This means you will have more consistent success when running option pitch plays in #CFB25

An earlier title update saw option pitches frequently plagued with a 'bad pitch' that resulted in the ball flying backwards diagonally, approximately 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage. ...

Title update 1.021 is now available for EA SPORTS College Football 25. The update comes in at approximately 1.5 GB on PS5.

According to the update notes posted in-game, most of the improvements center around Ultimate Team.

As of this writing, EA has not acknowledged the TeamBuilder issues that emerged following this update. We will update this article as needed.

The update adds WR Tylee Craft to North Carolina. Craft, who played for UNC in 2020-21, died from a rare form of lung cancer in October 2024.

Continue on to see the notes from EA. ...

The 2025 College Football Community Wishlist Tournament is now underway!

The annual College Football Community Wish List Tournament is designed to help further highlight the top community requests for each major game area. The tournament will be held in several separate areas of focus, such as Gameplay and Dynasty, for example. All voting will take place exclusively on X on the @gamingtailgate page.

While there is no guarantee the winning items will appear in College Football 26 or that the development team will implement anything based off of the community feedback, the Tournament will help to establish the importance of items and create dialogue within the community surrounding each potential feature/aspect.

Though the numbers behind the vote may be most visible on the surface, the most important aspect is your (the community) opinions on each aspect – not just the item you are voting for.

First, VOTE. Pick the listed item that is most important to you. (We realize it will be a tough decision!)
Then, REPLY with what each feature should have if/when it is added to the game to make it ideal for you. (Also feel free to reply with what it SHOULDN'T have.)

The goal of the Wish List Tournament is to allow the community an outlet to share their thoughts on their most requested College Football features. Vote and let your opinion be heard!

Continue on for voting links and to view the bracket(s). ...

In a post on X Thursday, EA announced that College Football 26 will be arriving this summer.

The post stated: "We said this place would be full again – thanks to our players, athletes, and fans for filling the house with us. Let’s keep that kick off energy going ‘til College Football 26 drops this summer 😉"

This is no surprise, given that College Football 25 was the best-selling game of 2024 in the US. Matt Brown of Matt Brown's Extra Points reported on December 5 information EA requested from schools, namely an additional asset/school information refresh. Brown also recently tweeted that there will be College Football 27; again, this should not be a surprise. ...

Ahead of Monday night's College Football Playoff National Championship Game between Ohio State and Notre Dame, College Football 25 is free to play on both PlayStation and Xbox; January 16-19. If you know someone who wanted to buy or play the game but has yet to do so, make sure they are aware of this opportunity. ...