Ohio State and Rival Teams Set for Revolutionary Pay Boost Through ‘College Football 26′ Game Play—What This Means for College Sports’ Future

The landscape of college football isn’t just shifting—it’s practically reconfiguring itself right before our eyes. And if you thought the EA Sports college football franchise was just tagging along, guess again. After vanishing for a decade, last year saw the triumphant return of “College Football 25,” a game revived thanks largely to the seismic impact of Name, Image, and Likeness reforms. Players earning compensation opened doors that fans thought were sealed shut forever, sparking plenty of excitement across the board. But here’s the curveball: with the upcoming release of “College Football 26,” the payout game is changing, too. Instead of schools earning based on traditional rankings, their share is now linked to how often players choose their teams in-game—meaning the popularity meter is now the real money-maker. For Ohio State and its massive Scarlet and Gray legion, this could translate into some serious royalties, given just how often the Buckeyes are picked across gaming platforms. With the July 10 release around the corner, it’s a smart bet that every single screen glowing with Ohio State colors means a handful more bucks heading back to the school. So next time you boot up your Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5, keep in mind—your choice on the controller could be more influential than you think. LEARN MORE

The next iteration of the game is set to be released on July 10, and if those reports are true, Ohio State should benefit greatly. Though raw numbers aren’t available, the Buckeyes have arguably the biggest and most followed fanbase in the sport, and there’s no doubt that there’s a lot of Scarlet and Gray on video game screens across the video game universe.Now, as things evolve, it appears as though schools will be paid differently for their participation in “College Football 26.” Players were already compensated last season and will continue to be so with an elevated amount this season. But for this year, teams won’t get a fee based on tier levels from the AP’s Top 25 poll, but instead the pay will be tied to how often each of the 136 teams in the game is used, at least according to a report from Matt Liberman.

If you are like us, you can’t wait to get your chance to play college football again on an Xbox Series X/S or a Playstation 5. Just remember to use Ohio State so the school maxes out its royalties for the game. I mean, every little bit helps, right?

Not only is the game of college football undergoing seismic changes, but so too, apparently, is the popular EA Sports college football franchise. The game came back from a major ten-year hiatus last year with the release of “College Football 25.” You can thank Name, Image and Likeness, and the ability to compensate individual players for the inclusion in the game for the renaissance, and we all celebrated.

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“For each CFB product released by EA SPORTS, we (CLC Learfield) will provide a percentage for each institution based on the games played for that institution as a percentage of the total games played across all institutions,” a document obtained by Liberman stated. “This percentage of games played will become the final allocation percentage for each school that will be applied to the total gross royalties for all institutions received.”