This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Arch Manning is in the game, and you better believe he’s getting compensated handsomely for it.
After the Texas backup quarterback infamously announced that he would not be accepting EA Sports’ offer to appear in the new College Football 25 video game, he has now changed course.
Not only will he be in the game, but according to a report from On3, Manning was paid between $50,000 and $60,000 to promote the game. On Tuesday, he appeared in a commercial with Eli Manning promoting his involvement with the game.
Initially, Manning declined to be in the game and publicly cited that he did not want it to be a distraction. However, according to ESPN, it’s possible that Manning wanted to wait to be “the guy” at Texas before committing to be in the game.
Manning will not be the guy at Texas this year. After a decision to stay with the Longhorns instead of hopping in the transfer portal, he will serve as the primary backup for Quinn Ewers, who is anticipated to be one of the top quarterbacks selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. Barring anything unforeseen, Manning will have to wait until next year to be the starting quarterback at Texas, but fans will be able to utilize his rare skill set in the video game this summer.
This is a monumental win for EA Sports, college football fans, and of course, Manning’s bank account. EA Sports gets the brightest prospect in college football to commit just weeks before they unveil and release the game. It’s a change of course, as Manning once seemed pretty adamant about not being featured in order to focus on football.
Now that college athletes can be compensated for their name, image, and likeness, EA Sports compensated Division I football players $600 with a free copy of the game for their involvement. Fans will be able to use the most prominent college football stars and feel comfortable knowing that they were fairly paid for their involvement and usage in the game.
A short 10 days after EA Sports announced their opt-in program, they had over 10,000 college football players that opted into being in the game. That number, according to On3, is north of 14,000 student athletes as the game is set to release later this month.
On3’s Pete Nakos reported that Manning’s management at OneTeam facilitated the deal to land him in the most anticipated sports video game of this decade.
