Sarni's Scrolls: EA Sports To Pay Players $600 To Appear In College Football Game

Hulu orders Chad Powers series; Apple launches sports app

The biggest NIL move to date -- EA Sports College Football 25 -- moved forward on Thursday.

The video-game publisher Electronic Arts announced its offer to the 11,000 student athletes -- every scholarship player from the 134 FBS programs -- who will be depicted in its revived franchise, due out this summer.

Each offer is for $600 -- regardless of player position or school -- and includes a copy of the game.

Beyond the one-time payment, however, players will not receive royalties tied to game sales.

That angered advocacy group College Football Players Association, which criticized the terms as subpar.

“The athletes of the second most popular sport in America are being treated like children,” the group said on X.

Still, it's a big win for college football.

This official announcement closes the loop on one of the first major NIL controversies. It’s been 11 years since EA Sports last released a college football game. Lawsuits over players’ inability to profit off their NIL more than a decade ago focused heavily on the video games.

Former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon, the plaintiff in the landmark antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA for forbidding players to profit off the use of their likenesses in the game, said he didn’t want college sports video games to stop — he just wanted players to be compensated.

Now they are.

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Hulu has given a series order to "Chad Powers," a half-hour comedy based on an Eli Manning sketch that aired on ESPN+.

Glen Powell will star in the series that follows a hotshot quarterback whose college career ends after bad behavior. He then disguises himself as the talented and affable Chad Powers, who walks onto a struggling Southern football team.

“The love for Chad Powers has surprised me in spectacular ways,” Manning said in a statement. “I played 16 years in the NFL, but now when I’m in a restaurant or walking through an airport, it’s not uncommon for fans to scream, ‘Hey Chad!’”

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Apple Sports, a new ap for the iPhone, show real-time scores, stats, and betting lines supplied by DraftKings.

It could be a draw for fans who complain about ESPN’s app, but the ultimate goal is to push consumers to AppleTV+, where the company has been investing billions of dollars in live sports rights. 

Apple is entering the second year of its MLS deal, and has also acquired the rights to stream some MLB games.

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Sports journalists and media personalities Joy Taylor and Taylor Rooks are teaming up for a new podcast.

"Two Personal" will see the FS1 SPEAK daily host and Thursday Night Football feature reporter tackle subjects beyond the world of sports.

They've promised they won't be afraid to discuss more challenging subjects, from mental health to discrimination, as well as a wide variety of social issues. 

"Joy [Taylor] and I have navigated our careers together as sisters in sport, but Two Personal allows us to expand and share our private thoughts and conversations with our listeners," Rooks said.

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ETC.

■ Caitlin Clark struggled as Iowa was upset by Indiana 86-69 on Thursday night. The NCAA women’s scoring leader had 24 points on 8 of 26 shooting (3 of 16 on 3s), and now needs 75 points to pass Pete Maravich for the all-time record. Next game: Illinois, Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, FS1. Caitlin will be mad.

■ Tiger Woods' 15-year-old son Charlie shot 86 (a 12 on one hole) is a pre-qualifier for a PGA Tour event. Such high expectations.

■ W Gold Cup: USWNT vs. Argentina, Group Stage, Friday, 10:30 p.m. ET, Paramount+.

■ Dan Hicks will replace Jac Collinsworth on Notre Dame games with Jason Garrett, according to The Athletic. Upgrade. 

■ Real Madrid is set to have three of the four most-valuable soccer players in the world after signing Kylian Mbappe. Jude Bellingham ($194.5M), Mbappe ($194.5M) and Vinicius Junior ($162.1M). Erling Haaland ($194.5M) plays for  Manchester City.

■ Nike signed soccer player 13-year-old McKenna Williams to an NIL deal, making her the youngest athlete in any sport to sign an NIL deal with the company. She's trained with NWSL teams.

■ The Premier Lacrosse League played 6 on 6 -- a faster version of the sport -- in the championship series between Boston and Philadelphia. The same format will be used at the 2028 Los Angeles Games when lacrosse returns to the Olympics for the first time since 1908.

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■ Ex-NFL player Rod Gardner, Washington's No. 1 draft choice in 2001, and his wife Leticia make up one of the teams in the next edition of "The Amazing Race" on CBS. 

■ Nick Dunlop, 20, who in January became the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event in 33 years. has signed with sports agency GSE Worldwide.

■ LIV golf inked a deal with Panini to produce trading cards for its teams and players, the company’s first foray into golf.

■ LSU's Angel Reese has been denied the trademark for her nickname “Bayou Barbie."

■ Amazon is paying an estimated $120 million for exclusive rights to an NFL playoff game after the 2024 season. Peacock paid $110 million for last season's playoff game.

■ Former NFL star running back Adrian Peterson clarified recent rumors and media reports by saying he has not authorized the sale of any of his trophies or awards.

■ The NCAA banned schools from decorating recruits' hotel rooms in their official visits.

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■ Beyonce became the first Black woman to hold the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart with her single “Texas Hold ’Em.” 

■ Sam Mendes will direct four separate Beatles biopics on Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

■ "True Detective" was renewed for Season 5 with "Night Country" showrunner Issa Gomez at the helm. HBO has signed Gomez to an overall deal.

■ "Law & Order" bid farewell to District Attorney Jack McCoy Thursday night on Sam Waterson's 400th episode. Icon.

■ Canada's "Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent" debuted on Thursday. The reviews are good.

■ Nvidia's stock price jumped 16% on Thursday, increasing the company’s market value by a staggering $273 billion in just one day, a record amount. The AI chipmaker is being called "the most important stock on Planet Earth."

■ Beyond Meat introduced a healthier version of its plant-based burger to help keep its floundering business afloat. The company’s value has dropped from a peak of $14.1 billion to less than $500 million today.

■ China plans to send a new pair of giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo, renewing its longstanding gesture of friendship toward the United States after recalling nearly all the bears on loan as relations soured between the two nations.

■ Interesting Fact: Potatoes can absorb and reflect WiFi signals.

■ We landed on the moon again!

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THEY SAID IT

■ "There was a bag man at every school around the country if you were competing for a national title.” -- Johnny Manziel, describing how his father allegedly tried to broker a $3 million deal on his behalf with former Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin while Manziel was starring for the Aggies during pre-NIL days. Manziel shared the story with Shannon Sharpe on the Club Shay Shay podcast that aired Wednesday.

■ "What's happening in women's hockey right now, it's surreal and we all take it in with a big smile." -- PWHL Montreal star Marie-Philip Poulin after the Toronto-Montreal game set a record for women's hockey attendance (19,275).

■ "We want fans to think that you know a game in the second week of November, even if you've already lost two or three games, still has a lot of value." -- Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti on the possibility of increasing the CFP from 12 to 14 or 16 teams.