DALLAS — After being gone for over a decade, EA's college football game will be back on the market.
And what other way to bring back an iconic staple of the video game and college football community than a venue unrivaled in the sport: The Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. EA Sports College Football 25 will launch July 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
On the cover of the game is Texas (and former Southlake Carroll) quarterback Quinn Ewers, Colorado two-way player Travis Hunter and Michigan running back Donovan Edwards.
“It’s going to be such a big game,” Ewers said on a video call with reporters. “Just being on the cover itself is plenty enough for me and I’m not even worried about the NIL aspect.”
The cover shoot took place at Dallas' Cotton Bowl Stadium in Fair Park.
Hunter, who plays cornerback and wide receiver, was a top recruit out of high school who shocked the landscape when he decided to enroll at Jackson State in 2021 to be coached by Deion Sanders. He followed Sanders to Colorado through the transfer portal in 2022.
Hunter said he is honored to be a cover athlete representing Colorado.
“I mean, I got a lot of little kids looking up to me,” he said. “Stay humble, stay focused. … Let the kids know you got to continue to work. As long as you’re humble and chase your dreams you’ll be able to fulfill everything you want to fulfill.”
Hunter posted a behind-the-scenes look at the photo shoot on his YouTube channel.
Edwards said some of the best moments of his childhood involved playing EA Sports college football games with his best friend.
“Just for it to be back, as well as to be on the cover of it, it’s an awesome feeling," he said.
The game will feature all 134 Football Bowl Subdivision schools.
EA Sports offered FBS players a minimum of $600 and a copy of the game to have their likeness included in it. It also offered some players NIL deals to promote the game through an ambassador program.
More than 11,000 players have accepted an offer to be in the game.
College Football 25 will be the first version of EA Sports’ college football franchise to be released since 2013, when the game stopped being made amid lawsuits accusing it of using players’ likeness without paying them. The NCAA’s approval in 2021 of players being able to profit from their brand opened the door for the game to be made again.
Editors note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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