TeamCrafters' testing of both Online and Offline Dynasty in College Football 27 has uncovered a major setup issue that every commissioner needs to know before starting a league. CPU-controlled teams automatically buy upgrades during league creation, spending Dynasty NIL budgets before other users ever get the chance to join and choose their teams.
What Happens During Dynasty Setup
The sequence is specific and reproducible:
- A commissioner creates a new Online or Offline Dynasty and selects their team.
- The setup flow advances to the preseason.
- CPU-controlled teams automatically purchase equipment upgrades with their Dynasty NIL budgets.
- When another person later joins and takes one of those teams, they are forced to accept the CPU's purchases instead of deciding how to use the full budget themselves.
The result is simple: the commissioner retains access to the full Dynasty NIL budget for the school they selected, while every later member inherits whatever upgrades the CPU already bought for their team. Those upgrades cannot be refunded.
This Is Reproducible in Both Online and Offline
TeamCrafters confirmed this behavior in both Online and Offline Dynasty modes. It is not a problem a league member can undo after joining: there is no refund option. The CPU made the purchases, and the budget is gone.
What Needs to Change
The clean fix is for EA to hold CPU upgrade purchases until after the commissioner advances past the initial preseason. That would let every user joining a new Dynasty take control of a team before any budget is spent on their behalf. EA has not publicly acknowledged this issue as of July 21, 2026.
What Commissioners Should Do Now
Until EA addresses this, commissioners should tell prospective Dynasty members that teams they join may already have CPU-purchased upgrades and that those purchases cannot be refunded. For now, the commissioner's team has a clear budget advantage — and everyone joining after setup needs to know that before they commit to the league.