On Friday night Electronic Arts, the popular video game publisher’s sports division, responsible for such titles as the Madden, FIFA Soccer & NHL series, reached a $40 million settlement with college football and basketball players over use of their likeness. The two game series in question, NCAA Football, which ran from 1993-2013 under the names Bill Walsh Football, College Football and NCAA Football & NCAA Basketball, previously NCAA March Madness which ran from 1998-2010.
These titles although they have had through their lifespan various licences from the NCAA and have included logos and uniforms from the schools, no athletes names were used in order to comply with NCAA amateur status rules. However to pay service to the customer the teams would be filled with players bearing the correct number and a reasonable likeness to the real life counterparts and the game allowed names to be edited so the user could either change the names themselves, or download a roster created by another user, to give the user an up to date roster.
No current players were eligible to appear on the cover the games so EA Sports would use a recent graduate who had moved into the professional ranks, as using a player who was still an NCAA amateur would affect his eligibility as the players are not allowed to receive any payments to preserve their amateur status.
The players case had rested on the fact that their likenesses were being used for profit of which they received, and under NCAA rules were entitled to receive none, yet EA Sports has made $1.3 billion in sales from the Football series alone, and with the NCAA receiving licensing fees for use of its name and logos both organizations have done very well out of the popular franchise. The terms of the settlement could lead to up to 100,000 current and former players receiving between $2500 & $15,000 including current and former collegiate athletes dating back to 2003.
$40 million for $1.3 billion is not a bad return on 20 years’ worth of games which have helped build the EA Sports brand which, along with 2K Sports, is one of the leading developers of sports simulations. However the legal wrangling around the case has led to the NCAA ending their licensing agreement with EA Sports and the game series itself being placed on hiatus, leaving many college fans disappointed.
This does lead into the wider argument about college sports and whether players should receive a percentage of the money made off them. With stadiums filled every week and millions watching at home, (26 million watched this year’s BCS National Championship game), do the players not deserve a cut of the profits these schools make? Some would argue they already do with many athletes on scholarships and on the fast track to a well-paid professional career
With the NCAA just two weeks away from an anti-trust lawsuit this settlement could well be just the opening salvo in a series of battles that could re-shape college sports, and prove that even at the collegiate level this is no longer just a game.
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