The EA Sports College Football game has come across a huge problem, that can have a huge impact on the game.
CFBPA has asked College Football players to boycott the game. This problem arose because the CFBPA thinks the compensation value each athlete is going to receive for their NIL is far too low.
If the boycott ends up happening, EA Sports College Football will probably only have a few licensed athletes. The vast majority will be generic characters.
So, let's find out exactly why this is happening down below.
EA Sports College Football low NIL compensation
The expected NIL compensation EA Sports will offer each player is $500. This is a very low number, especially when there are NFL players being paid more than $20,000 to appear in Madden.
Members of the CFBPA think this is an outrageous amount. CFBPA vice president Justin Falcinelli went as far as saying that EA Sports is "exploiting the athletes".
Falcinelli also encouraged all players to boycott the game. According to him, the game is a "crash grab", and wants to buy athletes NIL for the "lowest amount possible".
He also mentioned OneTeam Partners, which is working with EA Sports. For Falcinelli, the organization and others alike, "don't have the player's best interest in mind".
How can this boycott affect the game?
When users play a sports game, they do it mainly because they want to play with their favourite players.
However, if this boycott ends up happening, the game will be mostly comprised of generic athletes. This means that fans won't be able to control their favourite player. Instead, they will have a generic player in their place.
Because of that, the player's immersion will be completely ruined. Users want to play with Caleb Williams, Brock Bowers, or Spencer Rattler. Fans certainly don't want to control Josh the generic quarterback.
So, EA Sports has a huge problem on its hands. They need to find a way to give players fair compensation for their NIL, and they need to do it fast.
EA Sports College Football is coming out in 2024. Although it might seem like a long time, that's not the case when we are talking of a triple-A video game.