Gavin Bartholomew Opts Into College Football Video Game

Pitt Panthers tight end Gavin Bartholomew's likeness will be featured in EA Sports College Football 25.

PITTSBURGH -- As EA Sports continues the rollout of its much-anticipated college football video game, which is set to release this summer, one Pitt Panthers tight end announced that he has signed an NIL deal with the company that will result in his likeness being featured upon release. 

Gavin Bartholomew, the Panthers' starting tight end, responded emphatically when asked if he was excited to be a part of the game. 

“Oh absolutely," Bartholomew said. "I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”

The agreement Bartholomew opted into was offered to scholarship players from all 134 FBS programs. It provides athletes with $600 as well as a free copy of the game in addition to including them on their respective team's roster.

Players who choose not to agree to the deal will not be represented in the game while users will also be barred from recreating their likenesses. 

EA Sports began sending out offers to over 11,000 athletes in February with roaring success as the company announced on its Twitter page that over 10,000 of those said players have officially signed on and will appear in the game at launch. 

10k and counting... pretty pretttyyy good #CFB25 pic.twitter.com/RrO88VWjWM

— EASPORTSCollege (@EASPORTSCollege) March 4, 2024

Barthlomew explained the process behind agreeing to the deal, stating that he had to sign up through an app. 

"I downloaded an app and signed up and that was that,” Bartholomew said. 

The release of EA Sports College Football 25 will come 11 years after the most recent iteration in the series. Previously disseminated under the Bill Walsh College Football, College Football USA and NCAA Football titles every year from 1993 to 2013, EA halted production after losing its NCAA license while a group of former student-athletes also levied litigation against the company, claiming that their likenesses were used without receiving compensation. 

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