Name Image Likeness

EA Sports College Football 25 to Pay Schools in Tiers, Close to $100,000

Documents indicate a system to pay schools in four tiers, up to $100,000 for their use in the upcoming game

Noah Henderson

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart talks with Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (15) during a football game between Tennessee and Georgia at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart talks with Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (15) during a football game between Tennessee and Georgia at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. / Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY

EA Sports College Football 25 has dominated headlines over the past week. With leaks of the cover surfacing and an official trailer release from EA Sports, hype for the first edition of the storied franchise in over a decade is at an all time high.

Much has been made of the NIL payment to athletes that has allowed the continuation of the franchise after a legal ruling in O’Bannon v. NCAA forced the discontinuation of the franchise in 2013. All FBS scholarship players are able to opt in to the game and receive $600 for the licensing of their Name, Image, and Likeness - bigger stars have been able to earn more through a separate deal with EA Sports as a brand ambassador. Now, thanks to documents obtained by cllct media, it has been revealed how much money schools have made for their institutional IP assets.

Teams have been placed into a four-tier system to determine payouts. The tiers are based on cumulative team success from the 2014-2023 seasons and payments are structured as:

Tier 1: $99,875.16

Tier 2: $59,925.09

Tier 3: $39,950.06

Tier 4: $9,987.52

Coming as little surprise, the Big 10 leads the way with five tier one programs: Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Iowa, and newly minted Oregon. Close on the heels of the Big 10, once again, to no surprise is the SEC with four teams: Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and newly minted conference member Oklahoma. 

According to cllct, teams would be able to earn bonus compensation on top of the fixed tier compensation if certain milestones are hit within game sales. Tiers will remain dynamic for at least the next four years (the length of the current contract), and will be based on a 10 year rolling average of team success. 

EA Sports College Football 25 officially launches on July 19 for Playstation and Xbox.

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Noah Henderson
NOAH HENDERSON

Professor Noah Henderson teaches in the sport management department at Loyola University Chicago. Outside the classroom, he advises companies, schools, and collectives on Name, Image, and Likeness best practices. His academic research focuses on the intersection of law, economics, and social consequences regarding college athletics, NIL, and sports gambling. Before teaching, Prof. Henderson was part of a team that amended Illinois NIL legislation and managed NIL collectives at the nation’s most prominent athletic institutions while working for industry leader Student Athlete NIL. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law in Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelor of Economics from Saint Joseph’s University, where he was a four-year letter winner on the golf team. Prof. Henderson is a native of San Diego, California, and a former golf CIF state champion with Torrey Pines High School. Outside of athletics, he enjoys playing guitar, hanging out with dogs, and eating California burritos. You can follow him on Twitter: @NoahImgLikeness. 

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