Payouts revealed for every school represented in EA Sports College Football 25 game

EA Sports used a tier system to determine the royalty payouts to all 134 FBS schools represented in the upcoming College Football 25 video game.

According to a report from cllct, which obtained records from schools that stipulate minimum royalty amounts, EA Sports classified schools into 1 of 4 tiers based on AP poll results from the last 10 years. When a school finished the year in the AP’s Top 25, it received one point. The first tier was comprised of schools that received between 6 and 10 points. The second tier featured teams with 2-5 points while the third tier had teams with 1 point and the fourth tier had schools with 0 points.

The corresponding revenue paid out to each school, per cllct, was as follows:

• Tier 1: $99,875.16
• Tier 2: $59,925.09
• Tier 3: $39,950.06
• Tier 4: $9,987.52

Thirteen FBS schools reached Tier 1 status. Forty-one schools fell into Tier 2. The third tier had 26 schools. Fifty-four schools fell into the fourth tier, though the vast majority of the final group was made up by Group of Five schools.

Still, there were 11 schools from the traditional Power Five in the fourth tier: Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Maryland, Duke, Purdue, Cal, Rutgers, Boston College, Nebraska, Virginia, and Illinois.

Below is a breakdown by conference.

SEC

• Tier 1: Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, LSU
• Tier 2: Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Auburn, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Missouri
• Tier 3: Arkansas, South Carolina
• Tier 4: Vanderbilt

Big Ten

• Tier 1: Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, Iowa
• Tier 2: USC, Wisconsin, Washington, Michigan State, UCLA, Northwestern
• Tier 3: Minnesota, Indiana
• Tier 4: Nebraska, Maryland, Purdue, Rutgers, Illinois

ACC

• Tier 1: Clemson
• Tier 2: Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, Stanford, Louisville, NC State, Pitt, Virginia Tech
• Tier 3: SMU, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Wake Forest
• Tier 4: Boston College, Duke, Cal, Virginia

Big 12

• Tier 1: Utah, Oklahoma State
• Tier 2: Arizona, TCU, Baylor, Kansas State, West Virginia, Cincinnati, UCF, Houston, BYU
• Tier 3: Kansas, Iowa State, Colorado, Arizona State
• Tier 4: Texas Tech

Pac-12

• Tier 1: none
• Tier 2: none
• Tier 3: Oregon State, Washington State
• Tier 4: none

With previous entries in the franchise, the AP Top 25 was also used to determine royalties paid to represented schools. According to documents obtained by cllct, the system could change in the future.

College Football 25 will pay each athlete who opts into the game $600 for including their name, image, and likeness. They’ll also receive a free copy of the game. Schools could potentially earn a small percentage in addition to the royalty minimum if the game sells well.

With it being the first entry in the series since 2013, demand is extremely high. Despite the game being shelved after Ed O’Bannon brought a lawsuit against EA and the NCAA, a community of gamers kept the NCAA College Football 2014 title alive during the hiatus with meticulously crafted downloadable rosters that were updated every season.

EA Sports dropped a trailer for the game last week. College Football 25 releases on July 19.

Derek Peterson

Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.