How EA Sports tackled its big NIL problem in College Football 25

ORLANDO, Fla. — When EA Sports announced the return of the college football video game series, one of the biggest questions was how the new game would handle name, image and likeness.

Legal questions over those rights are the reason the game went away in the first place after 2013, with NCAA rules barring players from accepting money from EA. The loosening of NIL rules starting in 2021 is also part of the reason the game returned, with the ability to finally use real players.

But NIL has also dramatically changed since EA Sports’ initial announcement of the game’s return in February 2021. Collectives have emerged as key players in the roster management of big-time programs. New transfer rules carved out by the courts created de facto free agency. The NCAA has tightened and then relaxed its rules, now allowing schools to facilitate connections between boosters and active players. Preliminary injunctions against the NCAA cleared the way for boosters to talk with recruits.

So where does that leave the video game? NIL is in College Football 25, but it’s different in various game modes. It’s not in Dynasty mode as part of the recruiting process, but it is in Road to Glory mode as an opportunity (and a risk) for an individual player. Gamers won’t find themselves engaged in overt bidding wars for players or tampering.

“I know this is a hot topic,” principal game designer Ben Haumiller told a group of reporters last week. “This is a tough one for us because it changes so fast.”

In Dynasty mode, “Brand Exposure” replaces TV exposure as a recruiting inducement and acts as a stand-in for NIL. The process of building game features takes a long time and a lot of work, so the company didn’t want to create the structure for something that immediately became out of date. Plus, pay-for-play agreements are still not allowed by NCAA rules.

“When we started this journey, schools weren’t supposed to (facilitate) deals and talk to prospects with third parties,” Haumiller said. “When we were going through, we decided we’re not going to build out something where you’re the one making decisions of how much to pay a kid. We’re going to let this (settle) a little bit.”

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NIL does factor into Road to Glory mode, however. In this returning game mode, a player gets to college as a freshman (at one of four positions: quarterback, running back, middle linebacker or cornerback) and goes through a four-year college career (or five if he plays four or fewer games and takes a redshirt season). The player’s week-to-week experience will include decisions about training, academics, leadership and brand.

Your “brand” and NIL opportunities can differ based on the school you choose to play for. Players have a set amount of time in a game week, so you have to pick and choose whether you want to work on academics or accept a brand deal thrown your way that can help your player. Created players can’t max out on everything, so it’s a choose-your-own-adventure challenge that takes you down different paths, production director Christian McLeod explained.

“Why are NIL deals important? They’re important because depending on your NIL deal, they’re going to give you unique in-game boosts that allow you to have, for multiple games, certain stat increases,” he said. “So there are these really interesting dynamics that are going on here of, where do I spend my energy? … There is no right or wrong answer here. Every single one of these has a unique unlock. Each have their own pros and cons. It’s up to you to decide what you value most.”

These skill boosts are similar to previous versions of the game, which had career or one-game boosts players could gain based on points earned through practice. But if you don’t put enough time into academics, you can be ruled academically ineligible. (Don’t worry, you don’t actually have to take tests yourself.)

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The transfer portal also exists in Road to Glory, as it does in Dynasty mode, and you can transfer four times in four years if you’d like. Those are the actual rules, after all. NIL opportunities are once again a factor to consider. Suitors will look at the questions you answered at the beginning of your recruitment to start the game. You might also have teammates go into the portal.

College football has entered a new world. The NIL rules change every few months. Soon, power conference players will benefit from revenue sharing, another aspect EA developers may need to figure out for future versions of the game. But for now, in this first version of the new college football game, the NIL features are basic by design.

“This time next year, we might be talking about collectives on campus,” Haumiller said. “So we really wanted to figure out the right way to recognize NIL.”

(Screenshot courtesy of EA Sports)