For the first time in a college football video game, users will have to decide how much to pay players.
That’s the headline addition for EA Sports College Football 27, the third edition of the title since the game’s return after a decade out of production. The game has been one of EA Sports’ best sellers, and this year’s version is set for release on July 9 (or three days early with the Deluxe Edition or the MVP Bundle with Madden). EA Sports is also offering seven-day early access if you sign up for the MVP+ subscription.
The game will finally be available on PC after being available only on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S for the past two years. Kirk Herbstreit has also been replaced as a game commentator by Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt, who will be paired with ESPN’s Chris Fowler in a unique crossover. ESPN’s Holly Rowe also joins the game, along with Football Bowl Subdivision newcomers North Dakota State and Sacramento State.
This isn’t a review, as we haven’t played the game yet. That’ll come next month. But there’s a lot to cover. Here are the biggest changes coming to College Football 27 and our thoughts on what they mean.
Dynasty Mode: NIL spending and program budgets
Dynasty Mode will feel much closer to a pro sports Franchise Mode with the new Dynasty Blueprint. Schools have dynasty points that you allocate to recruits, current players, facilities and coaches. Different schools have different budget sizes, and how much a player or coach wants can depend on the school. A MAC program would have to spend more for a 4-star player than an SEC team, for example, and you might have to pay more for a coach who expects a better job. You can even persuade a player to not leave early for the draft by paying him more. Elsewhere, you can buy new equipment for short-term help or invest in facilities for longer-term help with recruiting and development. A new Coach Mode also allows users to play dynasty games without controlling the players.
Chris: As a Dynasty guy, this feels like the biggest change to the game since the first implementation of recruiting. For the first two years of the game’s comeback, developers didn’t know the best way to use NIL because schools couldn’t officially pay players. Now they can, and it’s in the game. It might take a while to figure out the best path. This might be a legit game-changer. I love that you can pocket-watch and see other schools’ payrolls, too.
David: Somehow EA managed to make budgeting sound fun and exciting. If it’s done well, it’ll add a ton to Dynasty. Every school has expectations from athletic directors, and that doesn’t only mean winning X number of games. Some schools are more patient than others. Go 11-1 but lose to your rival every year? That’s going to affect your job security, not that anything like that has happened ever or recently in college football.
I spend most of my time playing Road to the CFP online and Dynasty — this year, Chris and I established a dynasty with some of our media friends — and both have needed more depth. Making the difficult, impactful decisions that coaches and athletic directors make is a great addition. We want a simulation, and I was salivating at how much depth EA has added to Dynasty. And those decisions are going to vary a lot based on if you begin a dynasty at Akron or at Alabama. That couldn’t be more perfect. But maybe you can purchase the “football alum makes $10 billion in oil money” expansion pack to make some of those decisions a lot simpler.
Coaching carousel: Increased job options, new salaries and support staffs
The Dynasty coaching carousel is also much deeper, whether hiring a staff or changing your own job. Users can “express interest” and apply for jobs, whether or not they’re interested in you. You can finally see a prospective school’s budget and its top players. If you express interest in too many jobs, it can negatively impact your current job. But keep in mind that if you express interest, you’ll automatically accept a job if it’s offered. As a school, you also have to hire a support staff, though we didn’t see much of that yet.
Chris: Being able to see a school’s budget and roster before you take a job was a must-have, so I’m glad that’s included. We keep hearing in real life that more money should go to players rather than coaches. That’s something you’ll have to consider now. Everything here on paper looks good, but we’ll have to see if it plays out as intended.
David: The coaching carousel has been, by far, the worst part of the college football game’s return. The old carousel was way too tied to coach levels and not reality: I could win a national title in my first year as head coach and be rewarded with a generous offer to become Akron’s head coach or coordinate South Alabama’s defense. Meanwhile, in the real world, Curt Cignetti went from a virtual unknown to being pursued by blue bloods who hoped he’d take their calls so they could write him a blank check.
Gameplay: Coverage revamps, strategies, QB sneak meter and Coach Chat
Developers called this the biggest coverage revamp in the history of an EA Sports football game, with the addition of smart zones, red zone-specific behaviors, double-team improvements and user-controlled coverage checks, including better monitoring of a mobile QB. Additionally, a new meter will be in place for QB sneaks, similar to kicks, and the “coach chat” option in dynamic subs will let you help a player with a cold icon three times in a game.
Chris: The best thing I can say about CFB26 is that it felt like real football. It became much harder to spam a single play to victory. Running the ball is also a joy. I still struggle on defense, so I will need to adjust to these changes, but I like the idea that my CPU linebacker will have better QB scramble logic. QB sneaks in CFB26 became unusable against a player who knew what they were doing. I like this meter change in theory, but we’ll see how it works in practice. And the best news: Production director Christian McLeod told us the flood of late injury timeouts has been fixed.
David: I’m a huge coverage nerd, so adding a ton of customization in CFB26 made it much easier to stop people who ran the same play or two with a couple of tweaks. It also made the online game way more about ball knowledge than about exploiting the AI. That’s even better now with defensive backs and linebackers in zone looking for work instead of covering grass. Adding around 20 customized defensive back styles will be great for letting us play the way we want. Being able to shade coverage inside is one thing, but you could still give up a slant when that’s the one thing you wanted to prevent. Now, denying inside releases as one of those customizations should (in theory) do what we’ve been begging the game to do for 20 years: Give users more influence over the 10 guys they’re not directly controlling during the play.
Road to Glory: New positions, more tweaks
This mode — where users create a player and can begin in high school — has added tight end, edge rusher and free safety to the position options. Within those positions are custom player bases or “legend” builds modeled after different college football legends. Your height and weight can affect your physique-driven cap. There is more control over mental abilities, the addition of a “legacy score” for winning big games, awards or memorable moments, and good games that don’t meet all goals will be rewarded. There are 50 new scenarios, including quizzes and more practice drills. NIL comes into play here as well.
Chris: I typically play Road to Glory when a game comes out, but I drift to other modes. The additions here are minor but helpful. Edge rusher was a much-needed option. Now we just need offensive linemen and specialists. This mode needed more depth, and this game looks to have it.
David: Road To Glory can be infuriating because you can’t call plays, and I still don’t understand why, if some sick person wants to spend four years playing right guard, they can’t do it. There are a few more decisions you can make that will affect your player but these seem like minor tweaks. They’ll probably make the game a little deeper but the quiz function in the game seems DOA, even before the AI era. Your player has to pick a major and study for tests but if you don’t study, the entire test might, for example, be in Spanish. But for even the most difficult tests or tests in Spanish, what is stopping users from Googling (or, closer to real life, ChatGPTing) the answers or just using an online translator to make sure your player doesn’t have academic issues?
Road to the CFP: Unlockable playbooks, restart seasons and depth charts
The biggest fix to the game’s online play is that users will be able to change a depth chart before the game, rather than wasting a pause, thanks to mode-specific depth charts. Other additions include the ability to start the season over if things aren’t going well, unlock new playbook options and certain uniforms, and choose night games. But still no playbooks from other teams or customization.
Chris: These are minor but useful changes. It was nice to see EA finally adjust to four-minute quarters a few months after CFB26 came out. The addition of night games and depth chart help is appreciated. However, the playbook limitations remain frustrating.
David: EA held the line for two years, refusing to allow you to use one team’s roster and another team’s playbook. Users can’t use custom playbooks online, but what will end up happening is a handful of playbooks will become the most popular online, and that’s probably about all you’ll see once you reach some of the higher levels. I also like that if you’re playing as a Tier 3 team, for example, and lose close to a Tier 1 team, you’ll get a little credit for inching closer to making the Playoff. The depth chart tweaks are nice to finally see. They’ve had them in the FIFA series for a long time, but it did get annoying when an opponent would pause last year’s game to sub in Keelon Russell at Alabama or, in 25, bench Quinn Ewers for Arch Manning so we could start a game and then sit in a pause menu before the first snap.
Mascot Mashup
Nearly 120 playable mascots will be available in the return of mascot mode, in which users can play as a full team of a single mascot. Like the old NCAA Football games, every mascot is a 99 overall. But only 10 will be open at launch. To unlock other mascots, you’ll have to win a game as that school in Play Now (against the CPU if you want to make it quick, but it can’t be a sim).
Chris: Finally! The game mode we all clamored for while avoiding admitting it’s mostly a party trick. Still, mascot mode clips are always funny.
David: I’m so glad this is back. I won’t play this that much, but it’s too much fun and too funny to watch. I have young kids, and I’ll absolutely be introducing them to this quickly. Some people tear up at memories of the Grand Canyon at sunset, reflecting on its beauty as the colors radiate across the valley at twilight. I have the same reaction when running the read option with two Otto the Oranges. I don’t mind unlocking the mascots, but I was a little concerned that only 119-plus are available. What are the other 20 or so teams doing? Can I not channel the spirit of Lassie and run four verts with five Miss Revs?
Teambuilder
This custom team mode offers more stadium background options, such as an end zone facility, plus additional crowd and stadium sound customizations. The Teambuilder stadium can also be updated within Dynasty Mode.
Chris: I’ve only dabbled with Teambuilder a few times. There aren’t a ton of changes here, but some of them are ones many people were asking for.
David: In CFB25, the Southland Conference created all their teams with stadiums and uniforms and advertised it to fans to allow them to play with their teams and rivals. I’m glad this exists, and I’m happy for the fans of FCS and lower levels who can add their schools and others who can build dynasties at fake schools they create. The game mode isn’t for me, but the customization needs to be there for people who love it.
Ultimate Team: New upgrade system, 100-plus former players available at launch
The virtual “card”-collecting mode that allows users to create custom teams of current and former players will receive an upgrade system closer to Dynasty Mode, including a stronger reward for on-field play. More than 100 former college football players will be available at launch.
Chris: The number of college football legends available only in this mode has always been quite cool. Microtransactions are a huge part of the business of this and other games, so I get why it gets attention, but I’m usually in Dynasty Mode or online play.
David: I understand the financial realities that make EA invest in this game mode, but I hate it. This entire game mode seems to exist so preteens can beg their parents for money to pump into the game so they can play with a superpowered version of Bo Jackson, who they will never learn was both a real person and a borderline mythic figure.
Final Thoughts
Chris: The question I ask myself with each edition of this game is this: Is it worth spending almost $100 on these additions? Many people will buy the new game no matter what, for the updated rosters and any changes. The only part of this game I think is a big enough upgrade for the cost is Dynasty Mode, and I’m a Dynasty guy, so that works for me. The NIL aspect completely changes how this mode will play, and I’m excited to get into it. Much of the rest of the game is mostly fine-tuning. Still, we’ll need to get our hands on it and see if it all works as promised.
