EA College Football 26 Release Date, Cover Athletes, First Details

The highly anticipated official announcement for EA College Football 26 happened on Tuesday, and it came with a confirmation of the July 10 release date, cover athlete reveals, and a date for a full reveal of key features.

That happens on May 29, but let’s dig a little deeper into what was revealed in the first official news drop.

Sophomore WRs and preliminary Heisman Trophy candidates, Ryan Williams of Alabama and Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State, are the Standard Edition cover stars. Over 13 games during his freshman season, Williams recorded 48 receptions for 865 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 18.0 yards per catch.

He was an overall threat anytime he had the ball in his hands, as he also contributed two rushing touchdowns.

Smith was even more dominant as a freshman. In 16 games, he amassed 76 receptions for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns, averaging 17.3 yards per catch. He played a huge role in Ohio State’s national championship run.

“As a lifelong fan of EA Sports games, being on the cover… is a dream come true.” – Ryan Williams

“I’m proud to represent Ohio State… celebrating the passion of our fans.” – Jeremiah Smith

Both Williams and Smith figure to be two of the most high-profile players during the 2025 season, thus their selections as cover stars is fitting.

The cover for the Deluxe Edition is more all-inclusive to the entire college football experience.

The cover features college legends like Reggie Bush, Denard Robinson, Tim Tebow, mascots, and more current college football stars like Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love, and Penn State’s Nick Singleton. There’s even real-life coaches like Kirby Smart, Marcus Freeman, and Ryan Day.

The inclusion of coaches seems to signal some level of in-game inclusion for coaches in this year’s game. We learned that there will be 136 FBS schools. This number is up two from last year’s total of 134. The initial press release promises more authenticity across all athletes, stadiums, coaches, and fans, which is exciting considering last year’s game went heavy on those concepts.

The official announcement officially kicked off the pre-order period for the Standard, Deluxe, and MVP Bundle, which also includes Madden 26, which will launch in August, plus in-game bonuses. This year’s game will be available for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, exclusively.

This means there won’t be a PC version or last-gen option for fans.

Be on the lookout for more info on the full reveal on Thursday, May 29, when the world learns more about the details of this year’s release.