Electronic Arts (EA) is known for its sports video games, including college football games. Before the arrival of EA College Football 25, the company had not released a game since NCAA Football 14. The anticipation for the release of EA College Football 25 was massive, and the game lived up to the hype.
Within a few hours of its release in July 2024, the game had thousands of players. By August, it was the best-selling video game of the year and was among the highest-grossing video games ever.
EA College Football 25 sold enough copies in less than a year to earn a spot in the top 50 best-selling games in U.S. history.
The newest franchise version, EA College Football 26, will be released on July 10 and aims to be equally successful. This year's version includes a new feature allowing schools to profit from players using their programs in the game.
BREAKING: In EA College Football ‘26, schools will get paid based on how much gamers play with their team.@cllctMedia’s @Matt_Liberman has the details on the innovative change.https://t.co/8wBmOJuimU
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 6, 2025
Cllct obtained documents regarding the new payout structure through the Freedom of Records Act request and confirmed by multiple schools.
After EA College Football 26 is released in July, all schools that opted into the game will be compensated by how much their teams are used in the game.
This new setup allows schools with star players to receive more NIL compensation and potentially retain those players.
Documents dated from March 2024 and obtained by Cllct stated the revenue distribution ranged from around $100,000 in tier one to $10,000 in tier four. For College Football 25, the Iowa Hawkeyes were in tier one.
Compensation for athletes is also increasing. For College Football 25, athletes were paid $600 and given a free game copy. With new agreements, EA will pay athletes $1,500, with some receiving $3,000.
Pathway Sports and Entertainment also grabbed some video game NIL contracts for players and will pay athletes $1,500.
Iowa fans must use the team in the new College Football 26 game to give the Iowa Athletics Department a larger chunk of money.