'College Football 25' Makes Big Mistake With Arch Manning

EA Sports appears to have seriously botched its handling of getting Arch Manning into "College Football 25."

The backup Texas QB announced Tuesday that he will be in the first college football game from EA Sports in 11 years after initially opting out.

The announcement quickly went viral and was all over social media. The lone notable holdout is now in the game. It's positive news…..but EA Sports might have set itself up for future problems.

Did EA Sports botch handling of Arch Manning and "College Football 25"?

While many fans are just pumped that Arch Manning is in the game, I found myself getting curious as to what might have motivated the pivot.

The answer appears to be a hell of a lot of money. On3's Pete Nakos reported that Arch Manning is being paid somewhere between $50,000 and $60,000 in NIL money to promote the game.

That sets a terrible precedent. I can't imagine anyone was on the fence about buying "College Football 25," and then decided to do it *ONLY* because Arch Manning opted in.

Arch Manning is now in "College Football 25." (Photo by Chris Leduc/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

People were going to buy this game no matter what. The backup at Texas, no matter how famous he is, not being in the game wasn't going to move the needle a bit.

I literally went out and bought a PS5 just to play "College Football 25," and I can promise Arch Manning initially opting out didn't slow me down one bit.

By paying Arch Manning up to $60,000 to get in the game and promote it, EA Sports has set the precedent that if you hold out, there might be a huge payday coming to change your mind. Remember, the base level for players to opt in is $600 and a free copy of the game. Many players likely would have done it for free.

Now, why wouldn't a star player hold out for way more money? What will EA Sports do if the top 50 players in college football get together and demand similar money or they're not opting in?

Once a single star player is paid a bunch of money to opt in after opting out, a clear precedent is set, and that precedent is going to get very expensive very fast.

Arch Manning will be in "College Football 25," but is it a huge mistake for EA Sports? (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

EA Sports should have let Arch sit out "College Football 25" and circled back next year. By paying him, the company has now set itself up to write a lot of big checks in the future. Not smart at all. Let me know if you agree or disagree at [email protected].