Players can start opting in to new EA Sports game
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Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff Writer
For over 11,000 college football players, Thursday will be the first chance to opt in to EA Sports’ new college football game, EA Sports College Football 25, and get paid for it.
EA Sports has finalized its name, image and likeness plan and will begin the opt-in process. Up to 85 players per school will initially appear on rosters in the game, which comes out this summer.
All athletes who opt in to have their name, image and likeness appear will eventually receive $600, plus a copy of the game that’s typically valued at $70. Athletes would remain in the game for the entirety of their careers but could opt out of future editions if they choose. Athletes who remain in the game for multiple years will be paid annually, and players who transfer will continue to be compensated as long as they are on a roster.
“We feel very proud that we’ll be the largest program, likely the highest-spending program,” Sean O’Brien, EA Sports’ vice president of business development, told ESPN. “And really an inclusive opportunity with an equitable distribution of funds across the board.”
To help arrive at the $600 payment, O’Brien said EA Sports looked at deals completed with other sports titles, including the Madden NFL series, the NHL series and the company’s soccer game. EA Sports’ college football deal comes with no expected services by the athlete and will be guaranteed no matter the game’s success.
“There’s nothing been done on this scale that EA is doing, where every student-athlete that participates in the game is guaranteed revenue,” said Cory Moss, the CEO of the Collegiate Licensing Company, which has worked with EA on the game.
There will also be more than 100 additional NIL opportunities for athletes to work with EA Sports. These could include social media posts, on-campus promotions, advertisements or even being the game’s cover athlete.
And it might go further than college football players. O’Brien said EA Sports plans to pay athletes from other men’s and women’s college sports to promote the game.
Frank Arthofer, the president of OneTeam Partners, which worked with EA Sports on the licensing agreement, told ESPN that those NIL opportunities would be negotiated directly between EA Sports and the athletes. Arthofer said the scale for what EA Sports is trying to do with 11,000-plus opt-ins is “unprecedented.”
The ambassador program for the college football game will likely be larger than any other similar program it has for other EA titles, O’Brien said.
“The vehicle is obviously a college football game,” O’Brien said, “but we really want to celebrate the fact that we’re back in college in doing that.”
All 134 FBS schools have agreed to be in the game after the biggest potential holdout, Notre Dame, announced Tuesday that it would participate. Daryl Holt, EA Sports’ senior vice president and the group general manager of Tiburon Studios and American Football, told ESPN that no FCS schools will be in the game at launch.
Athletes must have an official university email address to receive the opt-in notice, O’Brien said, and EA Sports will insert the player once the school verifies the player is on the roster.
O’Brien said he believes the program will be able to handle any changes that might come to the college landscape in terms of the payment of players or future legislation. That includes the potential unionization of athletes, something EA is familiar with because of its work with the NFLPA and NHLPA.
“We feel very confident that nothing that happens in the future will put us in a position where we’ll have to exit because of the strategy we’ve implored right from day one,” O’Brien said.
Holt said individual players will not have face scans for at least the first year, since the logistics of attempting this with over 11,000 athletes would be very difficult. But EA Sports is working with schools and roster photos to “create a representative likeness of the player.”
If a player chooses to not be in the game, Holt said EA Sports will create a generic avatar based on the traditional strength or weakness of a position over the past decade for that school. Holt said they want to “make sure the program still represents the integrity and strength of how that team plays and what that program has done over the past recent history.”
Gamers will be allowed to create their own players, but Holt said the game will not allow an opted-out player to be created and inserted into the game.
“I won’t reveal how we’re dealing with that,” Holt said. “But yeah, you won’t be able to edit that.”
The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is set.
Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He was followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Brent Rooker of the Athletics and Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees.
On Friday, however, Acuna was replaced by teammate Matt Olson.
With all the entrants announced, let’s break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.
Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 434 feet
Why he could win: Olson is a late replacement for Acuna as the home team’s representative at this year’s Derby. Apart from being the Braves’ first baseman, however, Olson also was born in Atlanta and grew up a Braves fan, giving him some extra motivation. The left-handed slugger led the majors in home runs in 2023 — his 54 round-trippers that season also set a franchise record — and he remains among the best in the game when it comes to exit velo and hard-hit rate.
Why he might not: The home-field advantage can also be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first round, with 41 home runs, but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 36 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 24 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he could win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he might not: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
2025 home runs: 16 | Longest: 463 feet
Why he could win: If you drew up a short list of players everyone wants to see in the Home Run Derby, Cruz would be near the top. He has the hardest-hit ball of the 2025 season, and the hardest ever tracked by Statcast, a 432-foot missile of a home run with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. He also crushed a 463-foot home run in Anaheim that soared way beyond the trees in center field. With his elite bat speed — 100th percentile — Cruz has the ability to awe the crowd with a potentially all-time performance.
Why he might not: Like all first-time contestants, can he stay within himself and not get too caught up in the moment? He has a long swing, which will result in some huge blasts, but might not be the most efficient for a contest like this one, where the more swings a hitter can get in before the clock expires, the better.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 425 feet
Why he could win: Although Caminero was one of the most hyped prospects entering 2024, everyone kind of forgot about him heading into this season since he didn’t immediately rip apart the majors as a rookie. In his first full season, however, he has showed off his big-time raw power — giving him a chance to become just the third player to reach 40 home runs in his age-21 season. He has perhaps the quickest bat in the majors, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, and his top exit velocity ranks in the top 15. That could translate to a barrage of home runs.
Why he might not: In game action, Caminero does hit the ball on the ground quite often — in fact, he’s on pace to break Jim Rice’s record for double plays grounded into in a season. If he gets out of rhythm, that could lead to a lot of low line drives during the Derby instead of fly balls that clear the fences.
2025 home runs: 19 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: The Athletics slugger has been one of the top power hitters in the majors for three seasons now and is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season. Rooker has plus bat speed and raw power, but his biggest strength is an optimal average launch angle (19 degrees in 2024, 15 degrees this season) that translates to home runs in game action. That natural swing could be picture perfect for the Home Run Derby. He also wasn’t shy about saying he wanted to participate — and maybe that bodes well for his chances.
Why he might not: Rooker might not have quite the same raw power as some of the other competitors, as he has just one home run longer than 425 feet in 2025. But that’s a little nitpicky, as 11 of his home runs have still gone 400-plus feet. He competed in the college home run derby in Omaha while at Mississippi State in 2016 and finished fourth.
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 442 feet
Why he could win: Chisholm might not be the most obvious name to participate, given his career high of 24 home runs, but he has belted 17 already in 2025 in his first 61 games after missing some time with an injury. He ranks among the MLB leaders in a couple of home run-related categories, ranking in the 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate. His raw power might not match that of the other participants, but he’s a dead-pull hitter who has increased his launch angle this season, which might translate well to the Derby, even if he won’t be the guy hitting the longest home runs.
Why he might not: Most of the guys who have won this have been big, powerful sluggers. Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, and you have to go back to Miguel Tejada in 2004 to find the last player under 6 foot to win.
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