Video game to include 3 area players
EA Sports release will benefit athletes
Carson Gentle and Amari Jefferson are patiently waiting for this summer’s release of EA Sports College Football 25.
Not only will the McCallie and Baylor football stars have their names in the game as part of this fall’s Tennessee and Alabama football rosters, but they will eventually get paid for their name, image and likeness appearing.
EA Sports will pay college football players $600 each for video game NIL rights, with each player also getting a free copy of the popular video game for their preferred platform.
Thursday was the first day for college football players to opt into
EA Sports’ new college football game, which returns later this summer for the first time since 2013.
“I am so excited for the return of EA Sports College Football,” said Gentle, a threetime TSSAA football state champion. “I remember playing when I was 9 years old and I thought the game was the coolest thing in the world. When I played, I would dream of myself playing one dat at the collegiate level. Fortunately my dream came true.”
Gentle amassed 170 total tackles and 36 tackles for loss his last three seasons, which included two Tennessee Titans Mr. Football runner-up awards. In his current senior season, he helped McCallie win a state football championship along with leading his wrestling team to a clean sweep of the state duals and traditional tournament. He won the Division II heavyweight bracket this past weekend for his first TSSAA individual state title.
Jefferson, the Baylor star receiver and 2024 Mr. Football award winner who totaled 74 catches for 1,401 and 20 touchdowns, said he will certainly get “chills” when he plays with Alabama and throws to himself in the game.
After getting beat by his dad in the video game back in the day, Jefferson looks forward to beating teams himself in the game.
“I think it’s really cool to be able to represent your university and your family,” Jefferson said. “Being in the game is something that will mean a lot to me and is really cool, especially with EA Sports College Football being such a big time video game. My favorite feature of the game in the past was definitely the Road to Glory mode. I had a ton of fun playing it and will definitely be playing it again on the PS5.”
Thanks to NIL rules, EA Sports College Football will again be a common fixture in many households and especially college dorms.
OutKick, a sports news website, learned in a conversation with a PlayStation representative that EA Sports College Football 25 has a tentative release date of July 2024.
“This is an honor for us as college athletes to be recognized in something as big as this,” Gentle said. “It’s going to be a surreal experience logging into the game for the first time. I am excited to be taking Tennessee to the championship in the video game and in real life at the same time. No one has done that before. I will definitely be bringing my Xbox up to Knoxville so I don’t miss out.”
Former UT running back Gerald Riggs Jr. said he is excited to see a “timeless classic” return. He will even be able to go back and play as himself in the new game that will have the option to play with teams of the past.
“I remember when the 2005 version came out and they had my likeness with everything down to the way I wore my uniform in perfect detail. And I remember saying, man it sure would be nice to get paid for this,” Riggs Jr. said. “This gives players a chance to bolster their profiles and create opportunities for themselves.
“I love that they brought the game back. Having the current rosters and real life playoff format is going to be really cool. Given the technology, graphics and gameplay of our time, I expect the game to be so much more fun to play. I still even play the 2009 version where you could play in dynasty mode and I am currently in the year 2055.”