EA Sports Will Not Publish College Football Game Next Year, Future Plans in Doubt

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by DJ

I feel bad for Christian, former OS writer, who moved his family down to Orlando so he could work on NCAA. I hope he lands on his feet.

I forgot about that, I wish him well and hope he lands on his feet too.

[da ThRONe]

Quote: Originally Posted by roadman

Eh, you shouldn't generalize so much with the usage of "honest people" like we know what you mean, too. There is other people that lost their jobs besides developers and higher ups. For example, receptionists, research people, etc.... with families to pay for. Cusefan nailed it, it's a game for us, it was some peoples livelihood for them.

Wouldn't all the employees you listed fall under the umbrella of "honest people". I said it to be all encompassing. I can't go through and point out every employee and their personal involvement.

[Forestman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cusefan

People cheering this announcement make me sick. Some people actually got some enjoyment out of this game, some people do not get hung up on the flaws and can actually enjoy it for what it is. Good people with families will be looking for work soon, it's just a game to us but it's a paycheck to them. I have great memories with this series and I will miss it.

I agree with you 100%.

I'm really not happy about this news.

The same thing won't happen to Madden.... right?

[RedSoxFox7]

Quote: Originally Posted by BenGerman

One last thing I want to say on the subject -- and this is coming from someone who has argued over and over again that athletes should receive some kind of compensation... If O'Bannon thought it was so wrong that he wasn't being paid to play, than he should have never freaking played in the first place. He knows what he signed up for. And while I respect anyone who disagrees with the rule (hell, I disagree with the rule), rules are there until they aren't. And in this case, the rule is that student athletes can't be compensated for their likeness. Because this selfish jerk wanted a few extra dollars in his pocket after the fact, thousands of gamers lose out, and that sucks. Unless the NCAA starts paying players or allows them to make money off of their likeness, we will never see a college sports game again.

If you want to point the finger at some "selfish jerk," look no further than the NCAA. They've been abusing intellectual property law for ages.

The problem here is that the kids don't sign their likeness away to the NCAA when they sign up to play, despite the way the NCAA has treated things for decades (not just with video games, with jerseys and other merch too) and that's what they were suing for. Their likeness being sold without authorization isn't something they signed up for.

They didn't sue for labor violation. They didn't (technically) sue because they weren't paid to play.

They sued for intellectual property violations. They sued because the NCAA, CLC, and EA used their intellectual property without authorization.

Just because a player would be ruled ineligible if he accepted money for licensing his likeness does not mean the NCAA, CLC, or EA had a right to use that likeness without licensing it. The player's likeness is still his property and his alone.

Now, what actually defines a player's "likeness" is what had me really interested had this ever made it to trial. I was curious to see where the line was drawn; would it be as simple as a jersey number? race? attributes? Is there any combination that would've been allowable without crossing the line into IP violations, or would rosters need to be completely randomized?

Of course, none of that matters now. We'll probably never see the details of the settlement, and we'll probably never see another college sports game until the NCAA changes their rules defining amateur status.

[kingsofthevalley]

I think the game will return in 2016.

[nc0ffey]

Could the NCAA not put some text into the paperwork these athletes sign when enrolling to allow for them to use their name/likeness for marketing purposes?

So basically anyone wanting to pay college sports would either agree to allow it, or not play.

I understand both sides of the agreement, but I think scholarships and a stipend for meals is a lot. I understand the school is making a lot of money off of some of these kids, but you have to think...for every Johnny Football there are several hundred Joe and Jane Athletes at just that school, then think about that across ALL college athletics.

I don't see anyway they can pay any one sport athlete more/less than another sport (a football player would be paid the same as a volleyball player) without further backlash. I also don't see how one school could offer more to their players than another (players at UL Lafayette would make the same as those from LSU).

So if you want to pay all athletes based on the amount of money all colleges take in, then fine...but would it really be enough to help these kids out? I know "every little bit helps" but think about the amount of money divided amongst the number of athletes.

Also, then should student council or other clubs/affiliations get compensated too? I feel like there would be Pandoras box full of individuals trying to get compensation...and I think many would have just a good of a case as most of the athletes who would be getting paid.

[Sanchez_Mareno]

By agreeing to the scholarship you sign away your likeness rights, not a bad idea ^^^

[blkrptnt819]

Quote: Originally Posted by Sanchez_Mareno

By agreeing to the scholarship you sign away your likeness rights, not a bad idea ^^^

That's a terrible idea and I hope a group of attorneys never let this happen. I'm starting to change my tune. Don't pay the players, just allow them to accept money from 3rd parties. Then everybody is happy.