EA Sports College Football 27 officially drops worldwide on July 9, 2026, at 2 p.m. ET. While it may just be a virtual game for its users, real-life college football programs will be able to earn NIL money from the game.
This may sound like a crazy concept, but it’s 100% real. Just like it did in previous installments like CFB 26 and CFB 25, EA pays schools like WVU based on how many players use each specific team. Read more: How EA Sports College Football 27 is a money maker for West Virginia Football.
In theory, fans of West Virginia football can band together and use the Mountaineers in CFB 27 and help the program in real life. Not only does this allow fans to use their favorite team in the video game, but it also allows them to feel like they are helping the actual team on the field.
How it works
For CFB 25, EA Sports placed each school into four tiers based on the previous decade’s AP poll results and used those rankings to determine each school’s payment.
However, EA Sports changed the payment system for CFB 26 and now pays schools based on how often users play as their teams. Therefore, the more users play as a specific school, such as WVU, the more NIL money that school will receive.
This new system creates a fairer playing field for every school, big or small. A team like Alabama certainly benefited from the previous model, but now a small school like Missouri State can also reap the benefits.
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We know this based on how much the Bears were able to make from CFB 26. Since a common game mode in the game is based around users taking over a program essentially as the head coach, many users opt to take over lesser-known programs and turn them into national champion contenders.
With that, a school like Missouri State was used quite often for this exact reason. In response, the Bears received more than $100,000 in royalties from CFB 26.
Delaware is another example of a lesser-known school benefiting from this model. While the university did not disclose the specific amount, an assistant athletic director said the deal was “something in the six figures.”
With NIL dominating the college landscape now, any type of money schools are able to gather is crucial for success. That’s why even though it’s not a whole lot of money in the grand scheme of things, the extra money schools get from the video game is actually quite helpful.
Why this should excite WVU fans
WVU is leaps and bounds above schools like Delaware and Missouri State. At the same time though, the Mountaineers aren’t in the same category as the nation’s elites like Georgia and Indiana.
However, you know what all these schools have in common? They all need money to stay alive in college football now.
On top of that, West Virginia has just as much an opportunity to profit off CFB 27 compared to those elite schools. All it takes is for users to play as the Mountaineers as much as possible.
There’s no question that WVU fans will be using their favorite team in the game. The opportunity to play as 91 overall running back Cam Cook will excite all Mountaineer fans.
Or being able to take advantage of quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr.’s 90 overall speed. Players like this will certainly intrigue WVU fans, but it’ll also entice non-WVU fans to use the team as well.
In the real world, West Virginia hasn’t necessarily been at the forefront of college football the past couple of years. The team is also coming off a poor season last year.
That should encourage users to use WVU in the virtual world and attempt to turn the program into perennial national champions.
The more players attempt this feat in the game, the more NIL money WVU receives. In turn, that additional revenue can help the program achieve those same feats outside the virtual world.
At the end of the day, the new college football game allows fans of every team to use their favorite team and players. While they get the opportunity to enjoy this, they also are helping those teams financially.
With that extra incentive involved, that should excite every WVU fan to use the Mountaineers in CFB 27.
