A VERY big thank you to the 1,083 new subscribers to the Hit Stick Newsletter in the past 6 days!

As we like to say, you better have your head on a swivel, because the news has been coming fast and furious for CFB ‘25.

We have some new updates below, along with the first edition of our CFB 25 Wish List.

🤞Our Official EA CFB 25 Wish List

In what will be an ever-growing and updated list until we get the “Full Reveal” in May that EA has promised, let's jump into our CFB 25 wish list.

🎯 Team Builder

We listed this #1 because it is by far the most popular request we hear. As a community, we love this game because we can create a program from scratch and slowly build it into a national powerhouse.

There has been no confirmation on Team Builder for CFB 25, but we do have at least a handful of references to the following sentence from EA Sports:

🔥 "User-generated content is a priority" 🔥

We 100% believe that Team Builder will be in the game. A note of caution would be that EA has started to hint that the evolution of this game is a 2-year launch process. An example is the inclusion of FCS schools in CFB ‘26 and head coaches not included in CFB 25.

🏦 A Deep NIL Tool Box

NIL has upended and changed the college football landscape forever. The toothpaste is out of the tube and there is no way to put it back in. We hope that EA Sports embraces the creative depth of options that NIL may move into as the concept expands….positive and negative alike.

Seeing Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart sign an NIL deal with a private jet company, certainly opened some eyes.

Some wish list items:

1. A slider to control potential NIL and transfer portal impact is a must-have.

2. Violations. If the focus is realism, then we must see the negative side of NIL in the game

3. Partnerships and sponsorships with real companies. I fully expect to see this. EA would be crazy to not sell this ad space in the game.

📣 In Game Atmosphere

We can all agree that the in-game atmosphere of Madden is awful. EA Sports has received roughly 200 items from individual schools to build the most realistic college football experience.

Presentation elements will feature stadium and campus renderings, sounds, detailed seats, trophies, statues, and more.

Wish List Items:

1. A rivalry game feels like a massive game. Sounds, chants, traditions, fight songs, mentions of previous classic games.

2. A small program should NOT have the same feel as a game in Alabama.

3. A night game needs to feel different, especially if it is nationally televised.

4. Fans storm the field at all levels for a huge win.

5. Chants for a Heisman front-runner.

6. Realistic student-created signs.

7. Senior Days

8. Awareness of top recruits attending a game on the sideline.

🍺 Unique ESPN College GameDay Experience

We know from previous reporting that ESPN College GameDay is well-represented in CFB 25. But what does that mean exactly and does it impact your “Campus Environment” rating?

The hope here is that the presence of GameDay on your campus has a positive impact on all ratings for your program, especially recruiting, NIL, and transfer portal potential.

On a universal level within CFB 25, we hope there is a weekly ESPN GameDay show that provides a quick view of the national landscape and makes game predictions.

🏟️ Customization Features

• CFB Playoff customization looks to be in the game, along with conference realignment. So that checks off 2 major wish list items.

• Customized uniform options and player equipment would be nice as well.

• Stadium and practice facility add-ons would be a welcome tool.

🎥 Multiple TV Network Announcer Booths

This seems VERY important to all of us, and for good reason. Hearing the same announcers game after game can get tiresome. Multiple announcers via a different TV network presentation would be a massive feature success for EA Sports.

1. Of note, last week we covered how the EA Sports College Football Instagram account is following the CFB on Fox account.

💰Recruiting & Transfer Portal

We could easily do an entire newsletter on this topic, but with so many unknowns on how EA is going to work in the transfer portal, let’s keep it lite for now.

• Social media: No clue how EA will do this, but some form of social media and rumors must be part of the recruiting and transfer portal process.

• National signing day should be a feature, not just the last day of the recruiting results board.

• With the potential for 25% or more of a roster to turnover each season from transfers alone, this aspect MUST be a huge part of the game for Dynasty and RTG to feel realistic and modern.

🏈 Create A Play

Once again, this is a very popular request from the CFB 25 community, but this wish seems to lack the confidence we have with other items to appear in the game.

This also has massive in-game marketplace potential for EA. Let’s see what happens this summer, but we do not have high hopes.

📈 Coordinator Impact & Dynasty Starting Point

We would love to see an offensive or defensive coordinator option as a starting point for Dynasty mode. Additionally, the impact of keeping or losing a coordinator should uniquely cause a positive or negative situation within the program.

🚀 Road To Glory Leads Into Dynasty

A few wish list items for RTG:

1. RTG should begin in the senior year of high school.

2. Once in college, student life activities and distractions must be part of RTG.

3. After your 4 years of legibility are up, you can extend your career into Madden OR become a coach/coordinator within Dynasty mode.

🔥 Mizzou Coach Eli Drinkwitz Is All In

University of Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz is encouraging his players to opt into EA Sports CFB 25.

“You know I think sometimes it’s a catch-22 when people are saying “Well they’re not being valued enough.” Compared to what? Compared to not having the game and you’re not able to opt in, where now you get an opportunity to get paid and to get the game for free?”

“So I think sometimes opportunities have to be seized. As the game increases maybe there’s opportunities for them to do more with it, but I think it’s a great thing for college sports.”

🎮 Follow Hit Stick on Twitter: Free Copies of EA CFB 25

We will be giving away copies of EA CFB ‘25 and possibly more(!?).

Make sure to follow us on Twitter.

🎮 Travis Hunter Is Not Happy

We mentioned last week that Travis Hunter announced he was in CFB 25 via a “Paid Partnership” Instagram post with EA.

It highlighted how some players will make much more than $600 to appear in the game.

Apparently, Hunter was not happy when he was made aware of his rating for CFB 25. This rumor did get us thinking.

A deeper thought on the paid partnerships and annual NIL opt-ins for EA:

This COULD be a very slippery slope for EA Sports. Will players ask for their rating before opting into the NIL agreement each year?

Could we see players refuse to opt in or promote the game in the future if EA does not adjust their rating?

🏟️ We Ranked The BIG 10 Stadiums For CFB 25

The BIG 10 is now the BIG 18 for 2024.

We ranked the top 8 stadiums. Tell us how we did:

We fully expect the news cycle to get crazy for EA CFB ‘25 as we move forward into the Spring.

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