Deion Sanders is one of four power-conference coaches whose likeness is not in College Football 27. Stacy Revere / Getty Images
July 7, 2026 Updated 4:41 pm EDT
FRISCO, Texas — Colorado coach Deion Sanders says his absence in EA Sports’ college football video game franchise is “probably” because the company isn’t paying him enough.
“I don’t know about the video games. I have a wonderful team that handles a lot of business for me. If I’m not in the game, that means they weren’t paying enough,” Sanders said Tuesday during Big 12 media days. “It probably didn’t fit where we’re going right now. That’s probably it. It was probably just that simplistic.”
EA Sports’ college football video game returned in July 2024 after an 11-year absence, and last year’s game featured real-life coaches for the first time in the franchise’s history. Last year, 12 coaches were not included in the game.
This year, it’s only seven: Sanders, North Carolina’s Bill Belichick, Miami’s Mario Cristobal, Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, Utah State’s Bronco Mendenhall, Southern Miss’ Blake Anderson and North Texas’ Neal Brown.
An EA spokesperson told The Athletic that coaches aren’t paid at all to be in the game.
“All coaches and coordinators featured in EA Sports College Football 27 are included via unpaid licenses,” the spokesperson said.
Generic coaching avatars replace coaches who don’t lend their likeness to the game.
Belichick’s likeness was also not included in the Madden NFL franchise for most of his tenure with the New England Patriots because he was not a member of the NFL Coaches Association, which manages licensing agreements with EA Sports.
College Football 27 is set for wide release on Thursday and could be purchased in advance last week.
Colorado star Travis Hunter, who won the 2024 Heisman Trophy, was on the cover of the first game, College Football 25. EA said in November 2024 that College Football 25 was the best-selling sports video game of all time.
Jul 7, 2026
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