Will college football players earn from EA Sports' video game? Everything you need to know about latest initiative

NCAA Football 14 was the last entry in EA's college franchise, but it didn't have names for college football players. Back then, there was no NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) so athletes could not profit off of their names. Therefore, the game had nameless players with numbers that vaguely resembled their real life counterparts.

That's all changed, which is a big reason why EA is dipping its toes back into the college football pool. This was a big question surrounding the return of the franchise, especially since it was a big part of its initial departure.

Per ESPN, Michael Rothstein has confirmed that EA will have athletes' names and likenesses:

"An EA Sports representative confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday that it has contracted with OneTeam Partners to 'facilitate collegiate athletes' names and likenesses' into the game, solving one of the major questions about college football's return to the video game space."

How much a given athlete will be paid and the nature of payments have not been nailed down yet, but the EA Sports rep said the company's goal is to be inclusive and equitable.

They also confirmed that no player is required to be in the game. If a college athlete doesn't want his name in the game, EA is familiar with making vague, nameless players and will just do that again.

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EA Sports adding real college football players to latest release

Those who do want to be in the game may be able to get their face scanned. This is a technology EA has been using for Madden's Create-A-Player mode where gamers can have their own faces on their avatars.

Since there are thousands of college players, though, not everyone will be scanned. Either way, the avatars will be made to look like the players and will have their names and numbers.

Currently, more than 120 FBS schools have committed to being in the game. That includes aspects of the sport like all 10 FBS conferences and the College Football Playoff. EA's eventual goal is to have every FBS school in the game.

When the return was initially announced, many wondered whether NIL would play a role. Notre Dame was one university that said it would not participate with EA unless something was worked out.

Caleb Williams will be in the new game

Fortunately, for EA, the athletes and the video game community, an agreement was reached and the game should be released later this summer. Many will look forward to playing as the likes of Caleb Williams, Marvin Harrison Jr. and others as soon as possible.