If you thought Colorado was past tough times, you need to think again. After announcing the much-anticipated college football 25 game. EA Sports recently announced that they’ll be paying colleges based on a tier system based on AP Poll finishes from the past 10 years. This means that the higher the AP Top 25 appearance is, the higher the tier, which means better payment. According to reports, the payment for colleges regarding CFB25 will be distributed into four tiers. 

134 FBS programs have opted in for the EA Sports College Football 25 and these schools are further distributed by rank. The first tier consists of 13 schools, followed by Tier 2 with 41 schools, Tier 3 with 26 schools, and Tier 4 with 54 schools. While this seems like good news for the top-tier schools, the ones lower on the list like Colorado will not see a pay-day like Michigan. 

Colorado takes the back seat in EA Sports payment

EA Sports will be shelling out billions by paying $99,875.16 each to Tier 1 school, $59,925.09 to Tier 2 schools, $39,950.06 to Tier 3 schools, and $9,987.52 to Tier 4 schools. Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffs have fallen back, landing a spot at Tier 3 because of their poor performance in the last two seasons while Sherrone Moore and the 2023 National Champions Michigan Wolverines are one among the elite 13 schools of Tier 1. So, how is the distribution done? 

EA Sports took into account the record of the teams in their AP Top 25 appearance in the last 10 years. Teams that have appeared 6-10 times are classified to Tier 1 while the remaining Tier 2,3, and 4 are divided by teams with 2-5 finishes, 1 finish, and zero appearances. With just one appearance on the AP Top 25, Colorado falls short of Michigan’s glory by $59,925.1 as a Tier 3 team. But Coach Prime is beginning to work his magic.  

Colorado heading into the 2024 season

Colorado may not have been the most benefited team from EA Sports, but they’re already forming their own path. The Buffs announced that they’ve sold out their regular season games. This is a repeat of the Prime Effect we saw last season when he not only sold out every game but also garnered some of the most-watched games in college football. 

This season may have opened with some setbacks like the transfer exodus, but selling out the season games is something that speaks about Coach Prime’s dominance in Boulder. Deion Sanders is poised to make a victorious comeback as he places his faith in his players saying, “We are raising and building Men not Boys. The goal is to win on and off the field. Smart, Tough, Fast, Disciplined athletes with character.” So far, the team seems strong going into the 2024 season, and even do military-level training for the same. However, only time can tell if Deion Sanders and the Buffs can live up to the expectations of the crowd.