FBS Players' Name & Likeness Can Appear in EA SPORTS College Football

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The reason for the cancellation of the EA SPORTS NCAA Football franchise and the last remaining hurdle for the launch of EA SPORTS College Football has been cleared. ESPN.com's Michael Rothstein broke the story this morning: 'An EA Sports representative confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday that it has contracted with OneTeam Partners to "facilitate collegiate athletes' names and likenesses" into the game, solving one of the major questions about college football's return to the video game space.'

Early reports state that each player who opts-in would receive around $500 with the goal being to acquire the license for every scholarship FBS player, per Matt Brown. Brown also notes that players at the service academies cannot enter into NIL agreements, though those programs are looking into the issue. (Side note: Brown also reports that EA sources have told him their focus over the last few months has been to rebuild the recruiting process and make it more engaging on a week-to-week basis.)

Via Rothstein and ESPN.com:

When the first version of a college football video game in years comes out next summer, the virtual likenesses of actual players will be in the game.

An EA Sports representative confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday that it has contracted with OneTeam Partners to "facilitate collegiate athletes' names and likenesses" into the game, solving one of the major questions about college football's return to the video game space.

The partnership will include the chance for all eligible FBS players to opt in to have their likenesses in EA Sports College Football, the representative said. Those players will receive compensation for being placed in the game.

If a player does not want to be in the game, EA Sports would create a generic avatar and player in that athlete's place.

For participating players, it is possible a face scan of their likenesses could be in the game, the representative said, though not every athlete will receive a face scan because there are thousands of FBS players across the country.


Here are some of the follow-ups aspects and questions that emerge with this news:

- Roster updates: How often will updates comes during the season?
- Prepare for complaints: In every licensed sports title, athletes have let their opinions be known regarding their ratings and appearance. Try as they might, EA SPORTS College Football may feature approximately 11,305 athletes (113 x 85) that will need to be represented accurately digitally. It is all but given that some will be very disappointed, if not upset, with how they are portrayed. (See Madden, FIFA, NBA 2K, NBA LIVE, etc.)
- Generic faces: Previous versions of NCAA Football featured player faces that, to be frank, were not ideal representations of 18-24 year-olds, much less any actual player. With player likenesses acquired, EA will now find the bar raised for what fans (and players) will expect generic faces to look like. Neither entity will settle for a star player who looks nothing like themselves - and heaven forbid they look 10-20 years older than they actually are.
- Portal Movement: It may lead to complaints from players and fans alike if a player perceived as loyal to a school transfers in the offseason. Will the game code in previous portal movement so players will not transfer to a previous school and only allow transfers by eligible players? (Grad transfers, following coaching change, have not transferred before, etc.)
- Off-field Extracurriculars: Does the addition of player likenesses squelch any chance, albeit miniscule, the franchise had of bringing back off-field transgressions and punishments? With generic players in the PS2 era, EA had leeway to claim a player had committed a team violation or a low GPA. Now, will a potential backlash from licensed players who commit these imaginary fouls in the game eliminate any chance of this feature returning?


How excited are you for player name, image, and likeness to be included in EA SPORTS College Football? What questions or even concerns do you have with this news?