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Northwestern University is the latest to opt out of the relaunch of the wildly popular EA Sports NCAA football game.
Northwestern joins Notre Dame in not participating in the game due to Name, Image, and Likeness rules, according to reports. Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun Times reported the news, but Northwestern did leave the door open to join the game once the NLI rules were finalized.
“Northwestern will not be participating in the next version of EA Sports College Football until rules are created and finalized that allow players to benefit financially from use of their names, images, performance histories, etc.,” Greenberg tweeted. “Notre Dame was the first school to publicly announce its decision to hold off on joining the 100-plus schools already signed on to participate. Northwestern made its decision last month, according to an athletic department spokesman.
“Illinois, like the vast majority of FBS schools, signed its commitment with Collegiate Licensing Company. According to a spokesman, Illinois is under the impression that, if new NIL rules are passed, EA intends to change its plan to include players with compensation.”
When the details are finalized, however, remains to be seen.
“Our approval allows Illinois to be included in the development process, and we would be supportive of any changes EA may incorporate should NIL pass,” the spokesman said.
The game was initially discontinued in 2014 due to issues regarding the use of NCAA players’ likenesses, but now EA Sports is moving forward with a relaunch.
The surprise announcement was made on social media on Tuesday, February 2.
The message was simple.
“For those who never stopped believing … College Football is coming back #EASPORTSCollegeFootball,” the company wrote.
For those who never stopped believing…#EASPORTSCollegeFootball pic.twitter.com/2vDUYnbXEJ
— EA SPORTS (@EASPORTS) February 2, 2021
No further details were given at this time.
The announcement comes after a ruling back in October 2019 where the NCAA board of governors voted to allow athletes to profit off of their name and likeness. Those new rules are set to be implemented in early 2021.
We don’t know exactly when the game will be released, but we can’t wait and we know it will be one of the most highly-anticipated EA Sports releases in years.
