Arch Manning says he’s in EA Sports College Football 25 after reports he opted out of the video game

Texas backup quarterback Arch Manning announced Tuesday his likeness will be used in EA Sports College Football 25 following reports he had declined the game developer’s offer to be featured in it.

Manning, the grandson of former Saints QB Archie Manning and nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning, posted to social media a video of Eli reading him a phony play call while he threw a touchdown pass in the video game. The video was captioned, “I’m IN the game.”

EA Sports College Football 25 is scheduled to be released on July 19. It will initially be available on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X’S gaming systems.

The game will be the first version of EA Sports’ college football franchise to be released since 2013, when the game stopped being made amid lawsuits accusing it of using players’ likeness without paying them. The NCAA’s approval in 2021 of players being able to profit from their brand opened the door for the game to be made again.

EA Sports offered FBS players a minimum of $600 and a copy of the game to have their likeness included in it. It also offered some players NIL deals to promote the game through an ambassador program.

Multiple outlets had reported Manning initially declined EA Sports’ offer, saying he was focused on playing football on the field. He was the highest-profile player to reportedly opt out.

Eli Manning, perhaps poking fun at his nephew over the reported reason for opting out, tweeted: “@ArchManning is in the game! It’s a great way to focus on football.”

More than 11,000 players have accepted an offer to be in the game, which will feature all 134 Football Bowl Subdivision schools.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football