With the news that EA Sports College Football 25 will finally be here this summer, expectations for who and what will be included have college football fans very curious.
As the first college sports video game that will directly compensate athletes for name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights, we know that over 10,000 current players have opted in (while we know of at least one who did not).
A big part of the reason why the game series is so popular is how it incorporated real aspects of the college football world into the gameplay, including recruiting, bowl games, transfers, and awards. However, not everything from the real world is going to make it in.
Friday, news broke that the Heisman Trophy will be part of the game as reported by Front Office Sports.
The Heisman Trophy will officially be part of EA Sports College Football 25 🏆 pic.twitter.com/QN9k2AMkpM
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 8, 2024
While players will be able to take home the biggest award in college football, many of the other notable awards will have to go by a generic name instead.
The National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) has declined an offer to be included in the game, per On3.
“The offer that has been made is not adequate for the rights fee for the awards,” NCFAA president Mark Wolpert told the site, adding that EA Sports’ offer was a “nominal increase based on the 2014 number.”
What that means is that players who want to try to rack up awards under the Road to Glory or Dynasty modes will have to forgo the chance to win the Bednarik, Biletnikoff, Davey O’Brien, Doak Walker, Grozo, Jim Thorpe, Maxwell, Outland and Ray Guy awards.
Wolpert said that the door was open for the NCFAA awards to be included in future versions of the game.
“It’s really no different than what is going on with the players and their compensation. I mean, we have a number that we feel is a very fair number for EA,” Wolpert said. “To be frank with you, what our ask was, was at a level that would be rounding level to a game that’s going very likely to sell millions of copies at a $70 sale price point. There was definitely margin to pay the right fees that we should be able to ask for for that.”
So instead of “Davey O’Brien Award winner Arch Manning,” the 2024 version will have to settle for “Quarterback of the Year Award winner Longhorns QB1.”
