Electronic Arts will increase payments to university athletes this year for more than double the payments from 2024.
In an email to Division I NCAA athletes on Tuesday, EA Sports announced that it would increase its payments to soccer players from $600 to $1,500 to participate in upcoming college football video games.
Players included in the transaction will also receive a copy of the College Football 26 deluxe edition. This is the bonus I received in the last game as well. Some players will once again act as brand ambassadors for the game and receive additional rewards.
Discussion was not that easy for EA Sports last year. Many accused the gaming giant of lacking athletes, which Texas quarterback and legacy player Archmanning seemed very familiar with.
The nephews of Super Bowl winners, Payton and Eli Manning, were backed off negotiations until the 11th hour when Electronic Arts finally fell into the cave and reported $50,000 (or more) to bring the young star into the game. Soon after that, Manning released a Promotional Video With his uncle Eli to promote the title.
“I'm in the game,” Manning wrote.
College sports reporter Pete Nacos told the then Blaze News that he was covering athletes in the game.
Texas QB Archmanning withheld a 84x wage increase reported to participate in NCAA football25. SamHodde/Getty Images
Over 8,000 players agreed to participate in their previous games within days of being offered a deal in 2024, with a total of 14,000 athletes starting the options.
NCAA Football 25 was the first video game of its kind in a decade, and fans gathered in stores and online retailers to become the best selling sports game of all time. Last July, it was reported that the game reported $500 million in just a few weeks. on3.
Speaking about the new contract, EA Sports executive Sean O'Brien said the company's approach “always athletes can make their own decisions.”
“University sports are growing and changing,” O'Brien continued. “Our focus at EA Sports is to put athletes first when they participate in the game in college football after the age of 26.”
Agency OneTeam Partners has a multi-year agreement with EA Sports to negotiate group license rights, and is reportedly claiming to defend on behalf of players due to the lack of alliances. However, EA is still finalizing the decision in terms of how much the company pays college athletes.
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