EA Sports is planning to revive the “NCAA Football” video game series in 2024 after an 11-year hiatus, but we still do not know most of the details about what the game will look like. Even if it does include real players, USC quarterback Caleb Williams might not let EA use his likeness.
In a new interview, Williams responded to claims that EA Sports may offer players $500 each to appear in the game without royalties. Williams said that might work for most players, but that it would not be fair to the best players in the sport.
“I’d love to have the game back, but it’s the new day and age and everybody knows what the new day and age in college is,” Williams told Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports. “It’s like if you go to school and you are a straight-A student and there’s another kid whose strong suit isn’t school and he gets B’s or B-minuses. How fair would it be if you get the same grade as him? That never works in school and it doesn’t make sense. That’s how I look at that game with the situation with the $500.”
For Williams, the question may be irrelevant, as he is considered likely to enter the NFL Draft after the 2023 season. That would mean he wouldn’t even be in college for the game’s projected release. Still, his comments might be echoed by some stars who will still be in school next year.
While the initial plan was to include fictional players, EA has left the door open to including real rosters in the game. Stances like Williams’ represent one of the complications in making that happen.
