Following the NCAA’s policy change about athletes profiting off their name, image, and likeness, EA Sports is exploring the possibility of including student-athletes in its upcoming College Football game. Nothing has been confirmed, but the studio is watching the policy changes “very closely.”
Including college athletes in video games has always been a point of contention – long ago, EA was sued for using their likeness without monetary compensation, resulting in their removal from the series. Now that the NCAA is letting students profit off their name, however, EA Sports College Football might be bringing them back.
“We are watching the recent developments regarding student-athlete name, image, and likeness very closely. It’s still very early stages at this point, and we plan to explore the possibility of including players in EA Sports College Football,” an EA rep said.
EA has confirmed that it’s collaborating with the Collegiate Licensing Company to include 100 official NCAA teams, but we’ve yet to hear anything about the inclusion of players. EA Sports College Football does not yet have a release date and isn’t expected to arrive until at least 2022.
Fans have long wanted student-athletes to appear in-game, going as far as updating rosters for NCAA Football 2014 to include unofficial names and likenesses. To say bringing athletes to the next college football game would be a popular move is an understatement – college football fans want nothing more than to see their favorite players on the virtual field.
For now, we’ll just have to wait and see. The NCAA policies surrounding student-athletes profiting off their likeness have been in flux for quite some time, and it’s unclear how all this uncertainty will factor into EA’s decision. Things appear to be moving in the right direction, so let’s cross our fingers and hope everything gets ironed out prior to the launch of College Football.
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