With the end of Team of the Year promotion, Future Star Promo launches this Friday, along with FUT 26 Season 5 France '98 Battle Pass. 

This is a very short pass, but its generous rewards have led many players to consider it the most valuable season yet. So, should you unlock Premium Pass?

Season 5 Pass Rewards

Season 5 Battle Pass still features a Free Pass and a Premium Pass. Although the rewards are limited to 30 tiers, the quality of the rewards hasn't been reduced; in fact, it's arguably improved, especially in terms of players and EVO. Unlocking Premium Pass still requires 1000 FC Points or 500,000 FC 26 coins.

This Season Pass is themed around 1998 World Cup victory (France beat Brazil 3-0), so the rewarded players are primarily from France and Brazil. These players have excellent chemistry and can become key players on the team.

The following are specific rewards:

Free Pass Rewards

1. 5×80+ Rare Gold Players Pack, Custom
2. 8×80+ Rare Gold Players Pack
3. 1 of 3 82+ France/Brazil Player Pick
4. 3× 82+ Rare Gold Players Pack, Marc Casadó
5. Ibrahim Maza, Lucas Digne
6. 15× 82+ Rare Gold Players Pack, Agile Maestro [SP6]
7. 5× 82+ Rare Gold Players Pack, Glitchwave Stadium
8. Sharpshooter [SP8], Dribble Mastery [SP8]
9. 3× 83+ Rare Gold Players Pack, Glitchwave TIFO
10. 3× 83+ Rare Gold Players Pack, Glitchwave TIFO
11. 5× 83+ Rare Gold Players Pack
12. Rémy Cabella, 15× 82+ Rare Gold Players Pack
13. 1 of 4 82+ France/Brazil Player Pick
14. 5× 83+ Rare Gold Players Pack
15. Kenza Dali, Delphine Cascarino
16. 7×83+ Rare Gold Players Pack
17. 15× 83+ Rare Gold Players Pack, 8× 84+ Rare Gold Players Pack
18. 1 of 3 83+ France/Brazil Player Pick
19. 1 of 4 84+ France/Brazil Player Pick
20. Mohamed Simakan
21. Intercept Engine [SP21], Relentless Shield [SP21]
22. Glitchwave TIFO, Custom
23. 15× 84+ Rare Gold Players Pack, 4× 85+ Rare Gold Players Pack
24. World Tour Cosmetic [SP24]
25. Marie Katoto
26. Season Ladder Excellence [SP26]
27. 8× 85+ Rare Gold Players Pack or 25× 83+ Rare Gold Players Pack
28. New Spark [SP28]
29. 8× 86+ Rare Gold Players Pack, or 20× 84+ Rare Gold Players Pack
30. Michael Owen, or 5× 88+ Rare Gold Players Pack

Premium Pass Rewards

1. 11× 83+ Rare Gold Players Pack, Precision Passer [SP+1], Shadow
2. 10× 79+ Rare Gold Players Pack, Custom Kit, Custom Crest
3. 3000SP
4. 5× 82+ Rare Gold Players Pack
5. 7×82+ Rare Gold Players Pack
6. 3× 83+ Rare Gold Players Pack, Digital Dazzle Trophy, Custom Ball
7. Enzo Le Fée, 15× 82+ Rare Gold Players Pack
8. 4× 83+ Rare Gold Players Pack
9. 5× 83+ Rare Gold Players Pack
10. Burst Boost [SP+10]
11. 6× 83+ Rare Gold Players Pack
12. Melween N'Dongala
13. Wall in the Back [SP+13]
14. 3× 84+ Rare Gold Players Pack
15. Sandy Baltimore
16. 11× 84+ Rare Gold Players Pack, 11× 83+ Rare Gold Players Pack
17. 4× 84+ Rare Gold Players Pack
18. CAM Command [SP+18] & Versatile Striker [SP+18]
19. Digital Dazzle VIP
20. 3000SP
21. Marcus Thuram
22. 5×84+ Rare Gold Players Pack
23. 6× 84+ Rare Gold Players Pack or 3× 85+ Rare Gold Players Pack
24. Bulking Season [SP+24]
25. Marcel Desailly
26. Time Warp Cosmetic [SP+26] & In All Areas [SP+26]
27. 4×85+ Rare Gold Players Pack or 7× 84+ Rare Gold Players Pack
28. Anticipate+ [SP+28]
29. 6× 86+ Rare Gold Players Pack or 8× 85+ Rare Gold Players Pack or 30× 83+ Rare Gold Players Pack
30. Emmanuel Petit or 6× 87+ Rare Gold Players Pack

Early Pass Rewards

The initial free rewards are quite generous, with a 5× 80+ Rare Gold Players Pack given at level 1, and subsequent tiers also include high-quality card packs such as 83+11.

Mid Pass Rewards

Free Pass rewards remain substantial in the mid-game. For example, at level 23, you can obtain 15 x 84+ Rare Gold Players Packs, giving you the chance to acquire decent players beyond just fodder cards. In comparison, Premium Pass reward packs (such as 5 x 84) seem relatively ordinary.

89 OVR Mohamed Simakan World Tour, a level 20 reward, is a highly regarded center-back card with nearly a complete defensive playing style.

89 OVR Delphine Cascarino World Tour (Free Pass) and 90 OVR Sandy Baltimore World Tour (Premium Pass) at level 15 are also two very good cards. They can be played as a left winger and a right winger respectively, and both cards have a 5-star skill.

Late Pass Rewards

At level 30 of Free Pass, players can choose between 90 OVR Michael Owen Icon and 5 x 88+ Rare Gold Players Packs. Michael Owen boasts a 90 shooting rating and Finesse Shot+ and Quick Step+ skills, making him a formidable striker.

Premium Pass's level 30 reward is either 91 OVR Emmanuel Petit Icon or 6 x 87+ Rare Gold Players Packs. Emmanuel Petit is a powerful defender card, and his Intercept+ and Tiki Taka+ skills are very useful defensively.

Should You Unlock Premium Pass?

This Future Star Pass offers high-quality rewards, with an exceptionally rich selection of evolutions and very strong players. The two icons awarded later in the game can even be used as your starting players.

If you want to unlock Premium Pass, using FC 26 points is more cost-effective, allowing you to save coins for the transfer market.

For free players with 500,000 idle coins, the return on investment for this Premium Pass looks quite good, so you might consider unlocking it.

Overall, Season 5 Pass rewards are significantly better than those of previous seasons, with the rewards for unlocking the Premium Pass being even better. However, the player pack rewards offered by Premium Pass are noticeably weaker than free pass at many levels, so having only the free pass won't result in a significant loss.