EA Sports Increases Athlete Compensation for College Football 26

Sean O’Brien, EA Sports’ vice president of business development, shared insights with The Athletic about their NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) initiative. “Our NIL program has always been crafted to be straightforward, voluntary, and fair for everyone involved. We’ve ensured that all FBS athletes receive a consistent, base-level payment if they opt into the OneTeam platform via the COMPASS NIL app,” he explained. “This lets athletes decide for themselves. As college sports evolve, our main focus at EA Sports is to prioritize athletes, especially as we integrate them into College Football 26 and future titles.”

In College Football 25, over 11,000 player likenesses were incorporated, a figure expected to remain the same for College Football 26. A spokesperson from EA Sports mentioned to The Athletic that increasing the pay aims to ensure athletes feel valued for the game’s success. Pathway Sports & Entertainment, a licensing organization, has also begun securing rights to these athletes’ likenesses for video games, offering $1,500 per player. According to The Athletic, about 1,000 players have partnered with Pathway. Although this currently doesn’t affect College Football 26, it’s noted it might lead to some “tension” for later editions of the game. Thanks to these agreements, some players could earn $3,000 this year—$1,500 each from both Pathway and EA Sports.