By Peyton Dunn

Cover art for John Madden Football. Photo credit: gamasutra.com via Wikimedia Commons.

The year was 1988. It was a steamy June morning. You open your front door and are greeted by the daily paper. The headlines are updates on the upcoming presidential election, and a preview of the Olympics. On the final page, in the bottom right corner, there is a small advertisement for a new football video game. The game is called John Madden Football, from video game company EA Sports. 

This immersive online experience was the closest a fan could get to playing in an NFL game, but it was missing one key feature: it only accounted for the professional side of the game. The college game was completely left out. Instead of making an addition to the already popular game, in 1993 came the release of Bill Walsh College Football, once again from EA Sports. Once the game was released, it immediately caught the attention of many football fans. The portrayal of the in-depth aspects of coaches, players, stadiums, and uniforms all helped this game to be instilled in college football fans’ minds. This game’s dominance would continue to hold its grasp on football fans’ hearts, making the player feel more and more like they were part of the team. 

Different game modes evolved as the games improved over time. When the game was released, you were restricted to playing an individual game between two college teams. As the game got more advanced, you were able to become the year-by-year coach of a team, almost like you were under contract. This included recruiting high school players, hiring offensive and defensive coaches, and coaching for your team year after year. 

The game continued to expand, with sales at an all-time high during the release of NCAA Football 14. Shortly after this newest installation was released, the historic video game series came to a screeching halt. 

The battle for Name, Image, and Likeness, or NIL rights, has been in the spotlight of college sports for years. Eventually, this fight between the NCAA and players resulted in the game’s downfall. College players felt they deserved to be paid for being featured in the game, and the NCAA disagreed. Heavy penalties, such as dismissal from the college they were attending, were levied on any player who received any sort of payment. The NCAA video game could not function without the names of the players featured on the teams, and the players knew this. They wanted to receive compensation, and if they could not, they collectively said they would sue the video game manufacturers. When EA and the NCAA could not come to an agreement, the players kept their word. The players denied EA the rights to use their name on the video game. Consequently, the video game series was canceled.

In June 2021, 28 years after the release of the first NCAA video game, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the “NCAA can’t limit education-related benefits to athletes.” This case gave the green light for players to receive compensation for their Name, Image and Likeness, consequently giving the EA the ability to make a new college football video game. 

After almost a decade, EA Sports has confirmed that a new college football video game is on the way. With a projected release date of June 2024, the game is expected to maintain the same qualities as the versions that preceded it. Each player in the game is reported to be getting paid $500 for their NIL. 

Featured image credit: Hector Alejandro via flickr.