College Football

Current players will reportedly be featured on covers of 'EA Sports College Football 25'

Updated Apr. 29, 2024 1:56 p.m. ET

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EA Sports will embrace the current era of college football on the cover of "EA Sports College Football 25."

Current college football players will be the cover athletes for the upcoming video game, and there will be multiple cover athletes for multiple versions of the game, Extra Points reported Monday. Additionally, each player cover athlete for "EA Sports College Football 25" will come from the four power conferences, with no overlaps between the positions of the players, according to Extra Points.

This will mark the first time that EA Sports will have a current college player grace the cover of one of its college sports video games. During its first iteration of college football video games, EA Sports would typically select a college football star who went to the NFL over the offseason to be the cover athlete of the "NCAA Football" due to rules at the time preventing active college football players from profiting off their name, image and likeness.

When it was announced that EA Sports would release "College Football 25" this summer after a 10-year hiatus, many speculated that the cover would honor past stars who didn't get a chance to be on the cover. Some also speculated that it could also place legends of the sport, such as the recently retired Nick Saban, or find a unique way to celebrate the spot with the cover.

FOX Sports' RJ Young previously ranked Lamar Jackson as the top candidate to be the cover athlete of the video game, mentioning Joe Burrow, DeVonta Smith and Trevor Lawrence as other possible candidates if it opted to honor the decade it didn't release any games. Of current college athletes, Young ranked Colorado's Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter as the best options, proposing an idea to have them pose alongside head coach Deion Sanders. Both Hunter and Shedeur Sanders will enter the 2024 college football season as two of the most recognizable active players in the sport, making either of them a prime candidate to be featured as the Big 12's representative on one of the covers.

As for what to expect in "College Football 25," all 134 FBS schools have agreed to join the game with over 10,000 players from those programs already agreeing to a now-legal name, image and likeness (NIL) deal to allow EA Sports to use their likeness in the game. While many of the sport's best players are among that group, Texas' Arch Manning isn't, reportedly declining the $600 offer from EA Sports. Manning is the most notable player who has reportedly declined the offer to lend their likeness. 

Lamar Jackson headlines best cover athletes for EA Sports’ NCAA Football video game

It's unknown if cover athletes will receive any extra compensation for appearing on the cover of the game. 

The reconfigured 12-team College Football Playoff will also appear in "College Football 25," along with bowl games and the Heisman Trophy. However, the National College Football Awards Association, which is in charge of the other major college football awards, declined an offer to allow its awards to appear in the game.

EA Sports is expected to share more details about "College Football 25" in May before a release sometime in July. 

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