“Hate Is Real: Travis Hunter’s EA Sports College Football 25 Cover Appearance Over Shedeur Sanders Sparks Tactical Decision Remarks

Where is Shedeur Sanders? Sure, he is in Colorado. But that’s not what people are asking. Buff’s Travis Hunter was spotted on the leaked deluxe edition cover of the EA Sports College Football video game. Michigan’s Donovan Edwards and Texas’ Quinn Ewers were right beside Hunter. But Shedeur was nowhere to be found on either of the two leaked covers.

Now, days later, Matt McChesney from Zero 2 Sixty Podcast has claimed that it was all a smart business tactic. The former NFL football guard stated, “I did say Travis Hunter was going to be on the cover of NCAA 24, and lo behold Travis Hunter is on the cover of NCAA 24.” 

“So, I’m not saying I know everything, but I know more than y’all and that’s all I’m saying. … I think it’s pretty cool to have a Colorado buff on the cover. Good for them, you know. … the players there- and I want you to remember what I’m about to say. They are all about taking advantage of business opportunities. And as a football player, if you are not about the business and everything’s loyalty based by you, you’re going to be broke.” Thus, he stated that business was business.

After all this, he further shared, “I’m surprised that Shedeur and Prime didn’t get the cover. But I understand it. I think that would bring a lot of hate, not necessarily a lot of like- people aren’t going to just be buying the game because Prime and Shedeur are on the cover. There’s going to be a lot of people that don’t buy the game because they’d be on the cover. Because the hate is real out there.”

McChesney might not be wrong here. Deion Sanders and his son Shedeur have been polarizing figures in college football. Starting with Shedeur, let’s not forget that he is the son of a legend. Many have thought that he has arrogance and didn’t have to work that hard to earn his place on teams. For example: Deion Sanders was his high school coach. The same was the case at Jackson State and now Colorado. So, since his father was with him at every stage, Shedeur has many advantages as compared to other athletes.

Now, coming to Deion Sanders, many disliked how he overhauled the Buffs roster. His recruitment ways have been criticized as well. Additionally, his tweets and statements regarding some college football players (think about Sanders’ feud with Cormani McClain and Xavier Smith) have painted a negative picture.

Regardless, let’s get back to the main point: EA Sports College Football’s leaked cover. An official reveal will take place on May 16. We will have to wait and see if Shedeur or Coach Prime makes it on the covers or some part of the game.

Will the EA Sports College Football 25 not capitalize on Shedeur Sanders’ name?

EA announced in January that it would return with its first college football video game after 11 years. That was great news. But Shedeur Sanders’ not featuring on the covers brings up a lot of questions. Sure, McChesney’s opinion is valid. But let’s not forget that the player is among the top 3 or top 4 college QBs currently. 

In fact, ESPN’s 2025 NFL Mock Draft placed QB Sanders in the fifth position overall. Adding to all this, Shedeur’s NIL valuation stands at $4.6 million- that’s the highest. So clearly, brands aren’t afraid to invest in him. So what is with EA’s potential dilemma?

Regardless, not a lot is known about EA’s planning. There is a good possibility that Shedeur Sanders and Deion Sanders will be a part of the game’s promotion in some form. Plus, we still do not know if the leaked covers are the final covers. Alternate covers that we don’t know about may exist.

As reported by CBS Sports, they are 94% sure that Shedeur will find a place in the game. On the other hand, they gave Travis Hunter a projected rating of 97%. CBS also shared that names like Michigan’s Donovan Edwards, Quinn Ewers, and Colorado’s Travis Hunter were on the PlayStation Store listing.

Further, out of 10,000 players, only a handful of players will be a part of this project. So we will have to wait and watch.