The future of EA Sports College Football faces questions just two years after the franchise’s successful return. In 2024, EA Sports released College Football 25, bringing back college football video games for the first time in 11 years after the end of the former NCAA football franchise. There was no official NCAA license with the new game, but that didn’t stop it from becoming one of the best-selling games in the United States in 2024. It sold so well that it led to an increase in sales of current-gen consoles like the Xbox Series S and PlayStation 5 and ended up as the second best-selling game in the US for the year, just behind Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. It even ended up as the best-selling sports video game in US history by sales in dollars. Suffice it to say that the game was a success. This was followed by another successful year in 2025. While it didn’t perform as well as the first game, College Football 26 was the seventh best-selling game of the year. Moving on to College Football 27, there was excitement, but it was followed by frustration and anger from some of the larger members of the creator community when it was discovered that single-player modes like Road to Glory and Dynasty had increased microtransactions while removing previously available options and sliders to push players into making those additional purchases. Eventually, EA relented and removed the extra microtransactions. At the time, they said that the additional purchase options were added “independently of deeper mode progression with the goal of giving players more options, but what you said is that they don’t add the value we intended.” EA removed them, but the company has always planned to bring them back in future versions. The goal, EA said, for College Football 28 and future entries is to “deliver valuable features and content with greater transparency and communication.” But what is that future like? Where does EA Sports College Football go from here? Speaking with multiple sources, I’m told there is real concern about the future of the college football franchise. While there will be a game for the next few years, many of those who spoke, including a couple who I would consider high level around the game, have expressed concern that the franchise could disappear in the next five years. Sales of the game, while still strong, have gradually declined since the peak of excitement in 2024. The game was the second best-selling game in July 2026, but fell from the top 10 the following month. For previous releases, College Football 25 didn’t drop out of the top 10 until February 2025, while College Football 26 dropped out in December 2025. College Football 27 lasted a month as a standalone inclusion. I say standalone because it’s part of the EA Sports Kickoff bundle that includes College Football 27 and Madden NFL 27 for $99.99. It was ranked 4th on the best sellers list in August 2026. The popularity of games fluctuates and not all of them will sell as well as others. But why is there concern about the future of college football? A big reason comes down to finances. College Football 25 paid $600 to each player who signed up to be part of the game’s roster. With over 11,000 players in the game, approximately 7 to 7.5 million were going to the players. Fast forward to College Football 27, and that cost has increased to $1,500 per player. That means the studio is spending just under $20 million on NIL (name, image and likeness) payments alone. To cover that, EA has to sell around 275,000 copies at $69.99 to cover the NIL. That’s sure to happen, but there are other costs. EA also has to pay tens of millions to license universities, bowling games and other properties. Development and marketing also cost tens of millions of dollars each year. Sales of the base game may not be enough to meet EA’s internal expectations, especially if more players purchase bundles instead of the standalone game. EA plans more monetization Sources say there has been an internal effort now that they have to find different ways to monetize because, as one said, “Ultimate Team failed for us.” It is still making a lot of money, but well below expectations to offset ever-increasing costs. As for NIL, what started at a rate of between $7 million and $7.5 million could rise further. Some believe it could rise to $30 or $40 million in the coming years if the current pace continues. For monetization, all sources reaffirmed that it will return to modes like Road to Glory and Dynasty. One said: “It’s going to make people angry, and if certain people are bothered enough it could have a bigger ripple effect on us.” But why is there this fear for the future of the game? One source put it bluntly. We are not FC. We are not Madden. We don’t make the money they make, and everyone knows it… But there comes a point where, if we don’t find a way to keep the players and, in turn, make more, we will have nothing. Forget that in 10 years, I’m scared if we’ll have a game by the end of the decade. Games aren’t getting cheaper to produce, and we all have a real concern that EA will streamline and only have a few key franchises and get rid of everything else. It’s worth mentioning that there were sources who feel the concern is a bit overblown. They said EA “knows what we have with this franchise.” The idea of the company streamlining to just a handful of franchises seemed “overdramatic,” though they didn’t necessarily want to disparage those who worked on the game and felt that way. They still believe, they said, that the franchise’s future is strong. EA did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this story. In other news, read about Rockstar’s proposal for a mission for Grand Theft Auto 6 that involves a pet tiger. And to get even more Insider games delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter. Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012 and has reported on some of the industry’s biggest events while also working as an investigative reporter. Out of… More from Mike Straw MOBILE APP Level up your gaming news Real-time news, exclusive podcasts, push alerts, and a better reading experience. Available on iOS and Android
