Judge Nixes NCAA Players Antitrust Claims -- Case Not Over...Yet

[aholbert32]

Quote: Originally Posted by saunders45

So you'd also be ok with paying $50 or more for each college football game you watch on TV? Because the TV networks are doing far worse with players than NCAA football. The PAC12 just negotiated a TV contract worth $1,000,000,000, and the players don't see a dime of it. That's way worse than some video game.

Thats a bad comparison. One, giving players a small percentage of the tv rights fees would not cause TV networks to start charging for all televised sports games. The goal of a TV network is to get as many people to watch its programming as possible. Making college football completely pay per view would be counter to that.

Two, a decent comparison to the video game dispute is apparel like jerseys and t-shirts. A video game is a product. EA and the NCAA are selling that product partially bu using the likeness of college players. Just like the NCAA is doing the same thing with most of the jerseys it sells.

[Dbrentonbuck]

Sorry, but this is a stupid argument. Most of these player receive educations that are worth upwards of $50,000. I am 38 years old and still paying student loans. This sense of entitlement is what is wrong with our country today. I would let them use my kid's likeness any way they wanted for a completely free education at some of the finest schools in the country. I notice none of these athletes gave back their scholarships when they first realized they were in a video game did they? No, they waited until they knew for sure the NFL didn't want them and they had already raped the system for a free education before being offended. If an institution gave me a free education I could only hope my likeness or jersey could in some way repay them. Don't be a fool to think that these kids don't use the limelight that playing college sports gave them to make money either. I know that the very first thing a lot of these kids do when they graduate is sign mechandise and autographs at sports memorabili stores. I see it every year. The problem is that the NCAA needs to change their regulations to say that if you accept a free education from us then we have rights to use your likeness until the day you die. Don't think it is fair? Then don't accept a scholarship. There are thousands who will gladly take yours.

[pmurray20]

all honesty, I think the players should get something from this game. As well if they just randomized jerseys,skin color, attributes, everything to just make random players and you couldnt fix it, i probably wouldnt even buy the game

[aholbert32]

Quote: Originally Posted by Dbrentonbuck

Sorry, but this is a stupid argument. Most of these player receive educations that are worth upwards of $50,000. I am 38 years old and still paying student loans. This sense of entitlement is what is wrong with our country today. I would let them use my kid's likeness any way they wanted for a completely free education at some of the finest schools in the country. I notice none of these athletes gave back their scholarships when they first realized they were in a video game did they? No, they waited until they knew for sure the NFL didn't want them and they had already raped the system for a free education before being offended. If an institution gave me a free education I could only hope my likeness or jersey could in some way repay them. Don't be a fool to think that these kids don't use the limelight that playing college sports gave them to make money either. I know that the very first thing a lot of these kids do when they graduate is sign mechandise and autographs at sports memorabili stores. I see it every year. The problem is that the NCAA needs to change their regulations to say that if you accept a free education from us then we have rights to use your likeness until the day you die. Don't think it is fair? Then don't accept a scholarship. There are thousands who will gladly take yours.

See I hate this kind of attitude. I get paid good money to do my job. I'm thankful for the amount I get paid. But if I found out my job was selling T-shirts with my face on them, charging 20 bucks a pop for them and my job was making millions off of them.....I would want my damn cut.

Its the same with college athletes. One, you are wrong about most of them getting merchandise money. There are 10,000 Division 1-A football players each year. Maybe 200-300 tops sign memorabilia deals or merchandise deals when their college career is over. Two, they didnt "rape the system". They held up their end of the bargain. They played college football. The school gave them a scholarship. That was the extent of the deal. There was no likeness deal.

Three, if any top football player agreed to that ridiculous suggestion that in exchange for a 50k scholarship they give up their likeness rights for life....that player is dumbest person on earth.

[Dame]

Quote: Originally Posted by Dbrentonbuck

Sorry, but this is a stupid argument. Most of these player receive educations that are worth upwards of $50,000. I am 38 years old and still paying student loans. This sense of entitlement is what is wrong with our country today. I would let them use my kid's likeness any way they wanted for a completely free education at some of the finest schools in the country. I notice none of these athletes gave back their scholarships when they first realized they were in a video game did they? No, they waited until they knew for sure the NFL didn't want them and they had already raped the system for a free education before being offended. If an institution gave me a free education I could only hope my likeness or jersey could in some way repay them. Don't be a fool to think that these kids don't use the limelight that playing college sports gave them to make money either. I know that the very first thing a lot of these kids do when they graduate is sign mechandise and autographs at sports memorabili stores. I see it every year. The problem is that the NCAA needs to change their regulations to say that if you accept a free education from us then we have rights to use your likeness until the day you die. Don't think it is fair? Then don't accept a scholarship. There are thousands who will gladly take yours.

I would agree 100% with you if the scholarship was play football for us and we will give you 10k a year toward education and room and board. On the surface that seems fair. But I think the problem is more complex than that( see the fiesta bowl problems).

at 17 years old I would have jumped at the scholarship as well but at 30 and with some hindsight it dont seem like a fair trade(for superstar players and its only 10 or so great players each year). superstar players will argue that their value is more than 10k(you will never hear someone argue the opposite) the other side will argue its because of the college that your value has risen you will never find a fair medium.

This will all be mute if the NFL goes on strike and the courts find the NFL draft illegal because people will start leaving for the NFL as soon as they are ready there wont be a collective bargain in place to stop them.

A perfect world for me we pay the players and my gaming price dont go up but I dont think thats going to happen. I think they should get paid but i dont have a problem with them not getting paid either I just hate the argument of if that was me.

[Cryolemon]

Quote: Originally Posted by cch99

Put yourself in the shoes of the athletes. Were that you would you think that the character in the game had nothign to do with you ?

I wouldn't care all that much to be honest. I can see why people might though.

As for the issue at hand, would it be reasonable to have a voluntary waiver saying something like "I give the NCAA and it's partners the right to use my name and likeness for certain promotional items, such as jerseys and video games, without compensation" and anyone who doesn't sign it is generic in the game? It wouldn't solve every issue, but it would get rid of cases like this and let the NCAA cling on to whatever is left of the illusion of amateurism.

[SECElit3]

Quote: Originally Posted by aholbert32

See I hate this kind of attitude. I get paid good money to do my job. I'm thankful for the amount I get paid. But if I found out my job was selling T-shirts with my face on them, charging 20 bucks a pop for them and my job was making millions off of them.....I would want my damn cut. Its the same with college athletes. One, you are wrong about most of them getting merchandise money. There are 10,000 Division 1-A football players each year. Maybe 200-300 tops sign memorabilia deals or merchandise deals when their college career is over. Two, they didnt "rape the system". They held up their end of the bargain. They played college football. The school gave them a scholarship. That was the extent of the deal. There was no likeness deal. Three, if any top football player agreed to that ridiculous suggestion that in exchange for a 50k scholarship they give up their likeness rights for life....that player is dumbest person on earth.

AHolbert, I fully understand your argument and to some extent agree with it. Where do you draw the line in regards to likeness? How far does one go with his or her interpretation of likeness in regards to a football game? Some might make the argument that replicating a uniform which thousands of other players have worn, putting a number on it which thousands of other players have worn, and putting that player at the same postion which thousands of others have played, would not necessarily represent a true likeness.

Maybe my perspective is skewed a little here and maybe it is not, but your example of your company pasting your face on a shirt and selling it for profit is not appropriate for this scenario. EA is not putting these players faces in the game. The faces in the game are generics. They are not putting names on the jerseys. As obvious as it might seem to some that a player or players in a game represent real life counterparts, I believe this case is going to be determined by interpretation

[SECElit3]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cryolemon

I wouldn't care all that much to be honest. I can see why people might though. As for the issue at hand, would it be reasonable to have a voluntary waiver saying something like "I give the NCAA and it's partners the right to use my name and likeness for certain promotional items, such as jerseys and video games, without compensation" and anyone who doesn't sign it is generic in the game? It wouldn't solve every issue, but it would get rid of cases like this and let the NCAA cling on to whatever is left of the illusion of amateurism.

It is my understanding from reading posts of ex-NCAA players, they sign an agreement which protects the NCAA from lawsuits like this.