EA Sports is handing out raises to college football players, but let’s not act like it’s out of generosity

EA Sports just upped the bag for college football players, but let’s not act like they’re doing this out of generosity.

On Tuesday, EA announced that players who opt into “College Football 26” will receive $1,500 for their likeness—a 150% increase from last year’s $600.

On top of that, they’ll also get a deluxe edition of the game, because nothing says “fair compensation” like a free copy of the thing you’re featured in.

EA Sports now paying $1,500 to players for College Football 26

EA Sports announcement from EA VP Sean O’Brien pic.twitter.com/PBwR3zj0xp

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) March 18, 2025

It’s a solid raise, but considering how much EA Sports made off last year’s game, it’s really just them making sure they don’t get called cheap.

I’m not being a smart ass, EA Sports is literally printing money

When College Football 25 finally hit the shelves last year after a decade-long hiatus, fans lost their minds—and EA cashed in. The game reportedly raked in over $500 million in sales, and now, with a proven product, they’re gearing up to do it all over again.

Last year, over 14,000 college football players opted in, which meant EA paid out a little over $8 million in NIL deals. Now, with this new $1,500 payout, that number jumps to $21 million—a nice chunk of change, but still a drop in the bucket compared to what EA is bringing in.

So yeah, players are still getting shafted on the NIL payout

Look, getting paid something is better than getting paid nothing, which is exactly what happened for decades when EA was using college athletes for free. But let’s not pretend like this $1,500 payday is some massive win for the players.

When a game pulls in half a billion dollars, the guys actually making it possible should probably be getting a little more than pocket change.

College Football Players Should Demand More Money

EA Sports didn’t raise the payout because they wanted to—they did it because they had to.

The sales numbers made it impossible to justify keeping the payouts at $600.

But now that the game is back and the money is flowing, how long until players start demanding an even bigger cut? Because if EA keeps raking in hundreds of millions, you better believe $1,500 per player won’t be enough for long.

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