Athletes under the NCAA will finally receive compensation for appearing in the EA Sports NCAA Football game franchise. A settlement worth approximately $60 million has been approved, with affected athletes now able to file a claim for compensation until July 31.
In most sports games, the athletes depicted are usually paid a generic licensing fee for their appearance and other details. According to Deadspin, NCAA Football games try to get away without paying any licensing fees to players, by avoiding names altogether. Despite this, it still had the same teams with accurate roster details, such as the left-handedness and high ratings of Tim Tebow, but using the name “QB #15” on the roster itself. Even though the game series used a legal workaround to avoid payment, the details were still ultimately challenged in court.
EA discontinued the NCAA Football series in 2013, because of the legal action. It is unclear if EA will resume production of the series, now the case is over.
