After a decade’s hiatus, EA Sports is publishing a new college football video game next summer for the first time since the summer of 2013. The game was set to include current players for the first time in history, but there’s a chance that might not be happening after all.
EA Sports is giving players a chance to opt into being included in the game. The players who do opt in will be compensated, but that compensation is reportedly only $500, which is “a ridiculously low amount of money,” according to Justin Falcinelli, who is the vice president of the College Football Players Association.
As a result, Falcinelli is calling for players to boycott the deal.
“All current players should boycott this deal. It is an opt-in deal, and they should not opt into it. It is just a ridiculously low amount of money,” Falcinelli told On3. “Given the context and the hype that surrounds this game. When we first heard the number, we’re like, ‘Alright, that sounds low. Let’s go figure out if it is low.’ And started talking to guys, talked to some of my friends, some guys who are still playing in the NFL. ‘So, what are NFL players getting paid for Madden?’ And the numbers we were given were from 2019, it was disclosed that they got, I think, about $17,000. And then a current NFL player told us that he got a check for $28,000 this year for Madden.
“You should not participate in this. It is a simple cash grab to just try to get you for the lowest amount possible. And it’s OneTeam Partners and all these organizations that don’t really represent the players’ best interest.”
It will certainly be interesting to see how this plays out.
[On3]
About Kevin Harrish