EA Doubles Payments to Athletes Appearing in CFB 26, Royalties Also On The Table

According to The Athletic, EA Sports will pay $1,500 to college athletes that will be lending their name, image, and likeness (NIL) to College Football 26. Aside from the pay increase, Front Office Sports reports that royalties are also in negotiation.

EA Sports has previously paid the athletes $600 for their NIL in their appearance in College Football 25. However, new reports are claiming that the rate is now at $1,500, according to a report by The Athletic.

“From the beginning, we’ve designed our NIL program to be accessible, direct, voluntary and equitable for all, offering the same base-level compensation to every FBS athlete that opts-in using the OneTeam platform and COMPASS NIL app,” the EA Sports vice president mentioned in a statement.

A report from Front Office Sports mentions the possibility of players receiving royalties on top of the $1,500 payout. According to them, royalty deals are widely considered as the industry standard for deals that involve group licensing.

Aside from the payout, players will also receive a deluxe copy of the game which was also part of the deal in College Football 25. Ambassadors and players who will be chosen to promote the game will receive additional pay. 

EA Sports College Football 25 was the first entry in the franchise after more than a decade-long hiatus. The game was received well, getting a 83/100 rating from Metacritic and is considered as the best-selling sports video game in U.S. history based on dollar sales. The game had more than 2.8 million players at launch with 2.2 million of them purchasing the Deluxe Edition.

EA Sports College Football 26 will be released in Summer of 2025, according to a Twitter post by the developers.