Arch Manning has changed his mind about whether his image would appear in ‘EA Sports College Football 25’.
The Texas quarterback and nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning was originally the highest-profile college football player to not agree to have his likeness used in the long-awaited revival of the video game series, set for release later this month.
Reports in March said Arch, 19, opted out of the potential NIL deal because he wanted to focus exclusively on football.
All of that came to nothing on Tuesday, when he posted a video with his uncle Eli on social media, captioned “I’m IN the game.”
The elder Manning pretends to call plays for Arch, who is wearing pads to practice but is playing the video game while his uncle prepares him to throw a touchdown pass.
Arch Manning (below) appeared in an EA Sports College Football 25 commercial with his uncle, Eli
The 19-year-old has struggled to surpass Quinn Ewers as Texas’ starting quarterback in Austin.
Manning, perhaps mocking his nephew for the supposed reason for his resignation, tweeted: “@ArchManning is in the game. Great way to focus on football.”
In 3 reported that EA Sports paid Arch between $50,000 and $60,000 to promote the game.
All players who appear in ‘College Football 25’ will receive $600 and a free copy of the game.
EA Sports College Football 25 is scheduled to launch on July 19. It will initially be available on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X gaming systems.
EA Sports College Football, which features Ewers on its cover (left), is set to launch July 19.
The game will be the first version of EA Sports’ college football franchise to be released since 2013, when the game was discontinued amid lawsuits accusing it of using players’ likenesses 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 re-created.
Now, more than 11,000 players have accepted a bid to be in the game, which will feature participation from all 134 Football Bowl Subdivision schools.
Arch, meanwhile, enters the 2024 season as Texas’ backup quarterback behind starter Quinn Ewers.