Real or Fake: Leaked Cover for College Football 25 Surfaces
Today on X, a grainy photo surfaced of what is alleged to be the cover art for the standard edition of the upcoming EA Sports College Football 25 video game. This summer, thanks to changes in NIL regulations, the game, a re-brand of the fan-favorite NCAA Football series, will return to shelves after over a decade-long hiatus. The fan-favorite series has built massive excitement for the upcoming title, and the hysteria on X surrounding the leak is a testament to how hungry fans are for this game.
Adding to the unexpected twists in the game's pre-release journey, the alleged cover art leak has come just a day before EA Sports was scheduled to unveil the cover art and a highly anticipated trailer featuring in-game footage. This follows a similar incident five days ago when the cover art for the deluxe edition was leaked due to an unforeseen mishap within Sony's PlayStation Store. The unexpected leaks have only heightened the suspense and intrigue surrounding the game's release.
The leaked cover appears to have first been posted by the aptly named @MUTLeaksXXV account on X
CFB25 pic.twitter.com/kBd5YoriRL
— MUTLeaks (@MUTLeaksXXV) May 15, 2024
The alleged cover features Texas Quarterback Quinn Ewers, Colorado Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Travis Hunter, and Michigan’s Donovan Edwards. These big-name players appeared on the deluxe edition cover, which featured several other prominent college football stars, making this cover believable, at least by the metric of who is featured.
While the cover looks legit, the grainy nature of the photo and the lack of official sourcing cast major doubts on the leak’s legitimacy. Without any further indication from EA Sports, we will have to wait and see who is graced with being the cover athlete. Luckily, that wait is only one day.
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.