Work Remains to Get Service Academy Players in EA Sports College Football 25

Even with forgoing payment, service academy players are still waiting for approval to opt in to EA Sports College Football 25

Last week compensation figures were released for the highly awaited EA Sports College Football 25 video game.  The upcoming game, set to release this summer, will be a reboot of the EA Sports NCAA Football franchise that ended in 2014 due to legal complications arising from the unlicensed usage of athlete Name, Image, and Likeness.  Thanks to changes to NCAA NIL policy in 2021, the re-imagined game offers scholarship players at all FBS institutions the ability to be playable characters in the game, unlike the original series. 

Those who opt in are set to receive $600 and a copy of the game in exchange for licensing their NIL. While it was originally reported that service academy players will be eligible to participate in the opt-in program, it appears that more work is still required to enable cadets and midshipmen the same opportunity to be playable in game like their peers not enrolled at service academies.

Make no mistake, service academies will be in the game. Licensing agreements for institutionally controlled intellectual property assets like logos, stadiums, and jerseys will all be executed in the same manner as other non-military institutions.  However, restrictions around the publicity rights of service academy athletes has the potential to make these teams comprise of randomly generated players, instead of utilizing the likeness of actual athletes like every other school.  

Football players at 131 of the 134 FBS institutions have begun opting in to the new game in droves, but unfortunately, athletes at West Point, Navy, and Air Force are still on standby.  Federal law prohibits student-athletes at service academies from participation in NIL engagements.  Service academy students are deemed to hold public office, and with that status they are subject to ethical code that disallows using their position for financial gain: 

§ 2635.702 Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch;  Use of public office for private gain: "An employee may not use his public office for his own private gain or for that of persons or organizations with which he is associated personally. An employee's position or title should not be used to coerce; to endorse any product, service or enterprise; or to give the appearance of governmental sanction."

Ironically, this has not stopped the military from outsourcing their NIL marketing efforts to other athletes; notably UConn women's basketball standout Paige Bueckers inked an endorsement deal with GoArmy, the recruiting arm of the Army and Army Reserve.  

Federal law makes the process of entering into any agreement that could resemble a NIL deal with EA Sports challenging for service academy players.  Obviously, accepting any form of consideration as a fee for licensing would violate ethical code, however, through communications with EA Sports and service academies athletic departments, it appears that this roadblock may not be able to be fixed merely by removing the $600 payment.  

In an official statement from the Falcon's Athletic Department: “The Air Force Academy is excited to be included in the game. It’s important for us to have our school and our athletes included for our fans and for the branding, recruiting and exposure that comes with it. While government ethics rules prevent our cadet-athletes from accepting compensation from appearing in the game, we are working towards approval for them to be able to opt-in and appear in the game without compensation. Since our cadet-athletes are not allowed to accept compensation, the Academy will also forgo compensation for appearing in the game."  

An EA Sports spokesperson further highlighted that efforts are ongoing to circumvent NIL challenges to get players into the game: "We’re proud to include three of our nation’s service academies in EA SPORTS College Football 25 – West Point, Naval Academy, and Air Force Academy. While athletes at these institutions cannot accept compensation for their likeness, we’re working closely with the institutions on alternative ways to benefit the athletes." 

The current posture of the EA Sports and the Air Force Academy indicates the need for approval from a higher source in the federal government. It is unlikely that the mere representation of a character in game amounts to private gain. However, by extending a license to EA Sports for the usage of NIL, a player theoretically could be pegged as engaging in an endorsement, which is prohibited by the ethical code. Certain exemptions that allow public officials' endorsements exist and stem from departmental approval. Ultimately, it is a waiting game, and the power lies in the hands of bureaucrats rather than the legal creativity of service academies and EA Sports.