Developers working on EA Sports' College Football franchise are reportedly concerned about the series' long-term viability, with fears it may not survive past 2030. According to a report from Insider Gaming, conversations with senior-level sources familiar with the series indicate that while the game has performed well since its 2024 debut, sales have seen a gradual decline with each subsequent entry. This trend, coupled with increasing development and licensing costs, is raising concerns about the franchise's future.
The financial pressures stem significantly from the costs associated with name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights. In 2024, EA paid $600 per player featured, totaling approximately $7 million. These costs have reportedly tripled, with players now receiving $1,500 each, leading to an estimated $20 million expenditure on NIL rights for the latest game. Furthermore, substantial licensing fees for bowl games and universities add tens of millions of dollars to the game's overall budget, separate from direct development expenses.
These rising costs have led EA to explore monetization strategies, particularly within the game's single-player modes. Attempts to introduce microtransactions for offline content faced significant backlash from players earlier this year, prompting EA to reverse course. However, the company indicated plans to retool and reintroduce such options in future titles. Developers reportedly fear that a return of these monetization tactics could alienate players and hinder the game's growth, potentially jeopardizing its existence.
"We’re not FC. We’re not Madden. We don’t make the money they do, and everyone knows it," one source told Insider Gaming. "But it’s at the point where if we don’t find a way to keep players around and, in turn, make more, we won’t have anything. Forget in 10 years, I’m scared about if we have a game by the end of the decade. Games aren’t getting cheaper to make, and there’s the real concern with all of us that EA’s going to streamline and just have a few key franchises and dump everything else."
While some sources remain optimistic about the franchise's future, others point to the series' sales trajectory. College Football 25 was a strong performer, becoming the second best-selling game of 2024 in the U.S., but its momentum has not been sustained. College Football 26 ranked seventh in sales for 2025, and the current year's iteration sits at 10th. Unlike titles with broader global appeal, the College Football series' sales are primarily driven by the U.S. market. The franchise is the spiritual successor to the NCAA Football series, which was popular in the 2000s and early 2010s before legal challenges related to NIL rights led to its discontinuation.