EA Sports College Football May Have To Pay Athletes A Lot More Next Year

Here is a 196-word summary of the key points from the news article: EA Sports' upcoming College Football 27 game may need to pay college players significantly more for their name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights compared to previous years. In the latest installment, College Football 26, players reportedly received $1,500 per player, up from $600 previously. However, the article suggests this may not be enough going forward. The issue revolves around revenue sharing - Madden NFL and other pro sports games include players when dividing the revenue, but EA's college football deals only provided extra payments for cover appearances or marketing involvement. OneTeam Partners, which worked with EA to secure the college player deals, has called for meaningful revenue sharing in the next game. They note the higher payouts are progress, but "not enough." Without a union to negotiate on behalf of all college players, the athletes may lack the leverage to demand revenue sharing from EA in the near future. The article also mentions Pathway Sports reaching out directly to players to secure $1,500 NIL deals, the same rate as EA's latest offering. Overall, the report suggests EA will likely need to significantly increase payouts to college players for their NIL rights in College Football 27.