COLUMBUS, Ohio — One of the highlights of the summer for nearly all FBS college football players was the opportunity to be included in EA Sports’ College Football 25, which released in July.
Ohio State defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau was not in that group.
The talented edge rusher opted out of the video game, meaning his likeness is not able to be supported by the created roster.
“A lot of things that went in it for me,” Tuimoloau said Wednesday. “I was just so focused on football. Any further questions, probably just ask my pops, my family. It was a family decision.”
The game and EA Sports gave players $600 and a free copy of the game, in exchange for the right to profit off of an individual player’s name, image and likeness.
EA Sports College Football 25 was a hit from the outset, as fans from across the country had waited for more than a decade for another edition of the game to be released. It was halted 11 years prior due to legal challenges based around the likeness of players and teams in the game.
Now, that has been resumed. But for Tuimoloau, he won’t appear anytime soon in the virtual world.
