EA Sports

EA Sports is moving forward with a new project to bring athletes into its ecosystem at the beginning of their careers. The program, called Gen/EA Sports, has two goals: to “support” young athletes in their interests and careers and to use these players to engage audiences with their games, such as EA Sports College Football 25 or EA Sports FC 25.

“This is a brand new, unique program that aims to engage with the next generation of aspiring and emerging elite athletes,” said John Reseburg, VP/Marketing, Partnerships & Communications at EA Sports. “We have one of the youngest audiences in sports. We have a lot of research on Generation Z, Generation Alpha, and they have a stronger connection to athletes than they do to clubs or teams. Their fan base is based around athletes.”

The first slate of the video game publisher’s Gen/EA Sports series includes:

• Bianca Bustamante, a 19-year-old who competes in Formula 4, a circuit for younger drivers.
• Endrik, an 18-year-old who plays for Real Madrid and has a worldwide fan base.
• Travis Hunter: A 21-year-old from the University of Colorado who is not only a two-way threat as a WR and CB, but was also an All-American in 2023.
• Alyssa Thompson: A rising star at Angel City FC of the NWSL.

What’s interesting is that while each of these athletes fits into one of EA Sports’ video games (F1 2024, College Football 25, and FC 25), this program doesn’t tie players to a specific game (although Hunter is on the cover of the college football game). As part of this project, the four athletes will create content and interact with fans in various ways, and EA will support their causes and interests. But one of the keys here is allowing EA to build a relationship with these players.

“We see this as an opportunity to work with athletes in the early stages of their careers,” Reseburg said, noting that this not only gives these young stars a chance to build a business relationship with one of the largest video game publishers in the world, but also to build relationships with other EA partners, such as the cover stars of other games. “We want to be able to support them along the way.”

For more information on Gen/EA Sports, check out next week’s SBJ Gaming newsletter.