EA College Football Could Offer Bigger Payouts To Players

Earlier this year, EA officially announced that EA College Football 26 was in development for release this summer. Last year, EA offered high-profile college football players $600 each for the right to use their names, images, and likenesses in EA College Football 25. But if a new sports representative company is successful, EA may have to pay a significantly higher amount to include those players in EA College Football 26.

As reported by Yahoo Sports, Pathway Sports and Entertainment is making aggressive inroads by pursuing the elite players in college football. The company has offered players $1,500 upfront for their NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) rights in addition to royalty pay that has yet to be fleshed out. Over 450 students at Alabama, Illinois, Georgia, Texas Tech, Wisconsin, and Oregon have already taken the deal, and Pathway has even grander ambitions.

Pathway is currently sending representatives to colleges across the nation with the desire to sign every football player who is on a scholarship program. There are approximately 11,000 players who have scholarships, and it would take more than $17 million to sign them all at the currently offered rate. However, the report suggests that the total payout may exceed $20 million when factoring in "ambassador payments" for certain students.