NCAA Football 14 News Post

College Players Set to Get Their Share of a $60 Million Settlement with EA

11:50 AM - March 17, 2016 by RaychelSnr

Nearly 25,000 college football and basketball players were determined to have a valid claim to the class action settlement with EA over the use of player likenesses in their college games.

The average player will receive a $1600 check in the settlement -- with lawyers in the case taking a 30 percent cut of the award.

Former UCLA basketball player Ed O'Bannon, former Rutgers quarterback Ryan Hart and former Nebraska and Arizona State quarterback Sam Keller will get the biggest cut amongst players, estimated in the $15000 range.

At this point, the odds of seeing a college sports video game again are still quite low in the next calendar year -- as it would seem that legal structures to protect game makers and schools would need to be enacted for a renewed effort to begin. At this time there hasn't been much push for such structures to be enacted -- at best we are probably a couple of years away from a return of college sports games.

The more realistic outcome, however, is that we'll be waiting for quite a long time for a return of NCAA Football or NCAA Basketball.

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# 21 itsbigmike @ 03/19/16 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OBJ_Catch


	This is, as well as every single people who say that players don't get any compensation, wrong. Plain and simple. I think people forget one thing, when it comes to these players : They have, for a huge part of them, full-ride scholarships. They get to play football, and maybe make it to the NFL, be a 1st round pick and become millionaires in the best case scenario. Worst case scenario ? They get a College degree if they don't **** up, and they don't have to pay. The avg. scholarship for FBS schools in 2014 was 18,273$. If they have money, they probably will have to pay for the room, sure. But let's say they spend 5 years in the school, it's worth roughly 100k$, way less, or more, depending on the College they go to. On top of that, some of them have access to top-notch facilities and treatments that even those who pay the full tuition and fees don't get access to. This argument has to stop being used. It's wrong, ignorant, and has nothing to do with the matter of likeness. Also, College players aren't allowed to receive any sort of compensation for that. So yeah, they'd have to wait until the end of their college career to have access to it. A fully customizable game isn't out of the question, as said by some people. On top my head, I could quote the PES series, where you could find patches made by fans, which would allow you to have every kits, every stadium, fake signs and billboards, balls, cleats, everything that couldn't be included by the developers for licensing reasons. I can also think of the Steam Workshop, or the modding of games like GTA.

They also run themselves ragged having to burn the candle at both ends with training, practice, film study, actual school study, classes and trying to have a normal social life. They're working far beyond a full time job on top of going to this school, while their coaches make anywhere from six-to-seven figures on the backs of their hard work -- not to mention the lack of a penalty when the coach they signed on to play for bolts for a better job because these kids excelled on the field. Great, they get the education, but how many are being shoehorned into false degrees that do nothing for them in the future? This says nothing of the schools committing academic fraud to keep their players on the field. When you're not learning anything because your courses aren't worth a crap, the scholarship money means little. If the coach's' success is worth, collectively as a coaching staff, multi-millions of dollars, how much is the players worth? More than their scholarships.

# 22 HARLEE23 @ 03/20/16 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OBJ_Catch


	This is, as well as every single people who say that players don't get any compensation, wrong. Plain and simple. I think people forget one thing, when it comes to these players : They have, for a huge part of them, full-ride scholarships. They get to play football, and maybe make it to the NFL, be a 1st round pick and become millionaires in the best case scenario. Worst case scenario ? They get a College degree if they don't **** up, and they don't have to pay. The avg. scholarship for FBS schools in 2014 was 18,273$. If they have money, they probably will have to pay for the room, sure. But let's say they spend 5 years in the school, it's worth roughly 100k$, way less, or more, depending on the College they go to. On top of that, some of them have access to top-notch facilities and treatments that even those who pay the full tuition and fees don't get access to. This argument has to stop being used. It's wrong, ignorant, and has nothing to do with the matter of likeness. Also, College players aren't allowed to receive any sort of compensation for that. So yeah, they'd have to wait until the end of their college career to have access to it. A fully customizable game isn't out of the question, as said by some people. On top my head, I could quote the PES series, where you could find patches made by fans, which would allow you to have every kits, every stadium, fake signs and billboards, balls, cleats, everything that couldn't be included by the developers for licensing reasons. I can also think of the Steam Workshop, or the modding of games like GTA.

If the average tuition is what you said it is then that means the total cost of the players tuition (85 scholarships X 124 FBS schools I believe?) would be $198,810,240. Seems like a lot right? Maybe until you look at the TV deal that ESPN has with the NCAA for the college football playoff. They get around $470 Million annually for the deal. I don't know the value of all the other TV deals they have but I am sure it is a pretty hefty penny. Not to mention the merchandise they make off these players. If you went on Nike around October last year and looked at the Ohio State gear you would see multiple 15 jerseys selling for around 90-150 bucks a pop. 15 isn't a random number you and I both know that number was to represent the star that is Zeke Elliott. These players often have to stay off campus as well, do you expect them to have a job to pay for this? On top of the 14-15 hours taken out of their day from school and practice?

While the "free" education is nearly invaluable, the amount of work these players put in is insane when compared to a fulltime student schedule. Practice, film, weights, meetings can take up to 5 hours a day or more. Fit in study time on top of that, these players are essentially employees.

They've done studies that calculate college players market value based on a scale the NFL uses and the top tier teams in football had a difference in the value of their scholarship and the market value of over 400,000 dollars.

But I want my game back so if they can get this settled it would be pretty awesome!

# 23 videlsports @ 03/20/16 04:26 PM

I hope the options for college sports videogames would allow all game companies to make a game. But I know 2k would do excellent IMO. I miss college videogames

# 24 dubcity @ 03/20/16 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmik58


	An NCAA game with random (generic) players wouldn't appeal to enough people. Many are aware you can edit or download an edited roster, but a game shipping with fictitious rosters would be a hard sell on a mass scale.

People bought college games for years and years before roster sharing was even a thing. I think having the licensed schools, coaches and stadiums would be enough.

# 25 superxero27 @ 03/20/16 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverBullet19


	I remember, I had that title, and I do agree it wasn't done well. It had bad graphics, movement, and felt very half-aed. I won't, however, base my opinion on that.

Yeah 2k3 was bad, but it was based on the previous NFL 2k2 architecture. NFL 2k3 was a massive improvement, and I sometimes wonder what might have been it they had kept the college game out for one more year and leveraged that great NFL engine.

# 26 superxero27 @ 03/20/16 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by itsbigmike


	They also run themselves ragged having to burn the candle at both ends with training, practice, film study, actual school study, classes and trying to have a normal social life. They're working far beyond a full time job on top of going to this school, while their coaches make anywhere from six-to-seven figures on the backs of their hard work -- not to mention the lack of a penalty when the coach they signed on to play for bolts for a better job because these kids excelled on the field. Great, they get the education, but how many are being shoehorned into false degrees that do nothing for them in the future? This says nothing of the schools committing academic fraud to keep their players on the field. When you're not learning anything because your courses aren't worth a crap, the scholarship money means little. If the coach's' success is worth, collectively as a coaching staff, multi-millions of dollars, how much is the players worth? More than their scholarships.

Beyond all this though, there is another problem. Compare a student on a full-ride football scholarship to a student on a full-ride academic scholarship.

Both students are going to college "for free." Both students have to meet some sort of academic eligibility in order to maintain that scholarship. Both students have to balance class, extracurriculars, and everyday life.

The student on the academic scholarship can get a job wherever they want to bring in additional income to offset the costs of those things that aren't free (and there are a lot of those costs). The athlete cannot, either due to time/schedule constraints or NCAA eligibility rules. The academic student would be able to profit from their likeness if anyone were interested (for example publishing their research for a per-access fee). The academic student would be able to accept all kinds of other financial assistance from outside influences (since they don't have to report to the NCAA), whereas the athlete cannot.

When you realize that the full-ride athletes are probably more likely to come from poverty than the full-ride academics, and that (as the NCAA loves to point out) the vast majority of them will "go pro in something other than sports" you see the machinations of a flawed system. Allowing athletes similar access to profit from their likeness as a regular student would help address this imbalance. And it's not like the video game companies aren't willing to do so. EA is basically standing outside waving fistfulls of money begging to be let in.

# 27 Hoops737 @ 03/21/16 02:30 PM

I hate O'Bannon with the fire of a thousand suns.

Thank you for taking away my favorite game, jerk.

# 28 kc_brigade88 @ 03/21/16 02:37 PM

I see both sides to the coin in this situation. I do understand that the athletes get a bunch of free stuff (google how much money is needed for football equipment for 1 player). A lot of money is brought in by these players. I do understand they have no social life because of practice and all that as well.

My biggest concern here is this...would every player be getting the same amount? How does that work? Would you pay FCS players if those teams are put back into the game? Is it only $1,500 for football? How much is likeness for college basketball? (Since D-I is all 300+ in a basketball game). What about basketball schools that don't have football? (Creighton, Wichita St., etc etc.)

# 29 dovuto86 @ 03/21/16 04:37 PM

I hope you people realize that an NCAA game will never happen again. They would have to pay each player individually, meaning players from the power 5 conference colleges would get paid way more than the mid majors/ lower tiered schools. This will mess up recruiting terribly and put the mid majors/ lower schools at a huge disadvantage making college sports less competitive. If a top 10 quarterback recruit out of high school wants to go to Tulsa because its his hometown college, he wouldnt do it if they paid athletes because hed make way more money if he went to oklahoma or alabama. and also if a quarterback becomes a star at a college like Tulsa hed transfer the next season to an oklahoma or alabama so hed make way more money on endorsements and game license fees. Also if they try to even it out so that each player makes the same then the power 5 conference players would reject it asap because they feel they deserve way more money than the lower mid major players.

# 30 dovuto86 @ 03/21/16 04:40 PM

It's not the player's fault, they should be compensated. It's not EA's fault, they are willing to compensate the players for their likenesses. The NCAA's ridiculousness is the real culprit. They allow this climate where schools, apparel companies, TV networks, and they themselves squeeze every dime they can out of these players w/o throwing anything back their way.

Its called their scholarship and room and board... They make hundreds of thousands of dollars just from not having to pay for their tuition and room and board.

# 31 SilverBullet19 @ 03/22/16 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OBJ_Catch


	This is, as well as every single people who say that players don't get any compensation, wrong. Plain and simple. I think people forget one thing, when it comes to these players : They have, for a huge part of them, full-ride scholarships. They get to play football, and maybe make it to the NFL, be a 1st round pick and become millionaires in the best case scenario. Worst case scenario ? They get a College degree if they don't **** up, and they don't have to pay. The avg. scholarship for FBS schools in 2014 was 18,273$. If they have money, they probably will have to pay for the room, sure. But let's say they spend 5 years in the school, it's worth roughly 100k$, way less, or more, depending on the College they go to. On top of that, some of them have access to top-notch facilities and treatments that even those who pay the full tuition and fees don't get access to. This argument has to stop being used. It's wrong, ignorant, and has nothing to do with the matter of likeness. Also, College players aren't allowed to receive any sort of compensation for that. So yeah, they'd have to wait until the end of their college career to have access to it. A fully customizable game isn't out of the question, as said by some people. On top my head, I could quote the PES series, where you could find patches made by fans, which would allow you to have every kits, every stadium, fake signs and billboards, balls, cleats, everything that couldn't be included by the developers for licensing reasons. I can also think of the Steam Workshop, or the modding of games like GTA.

Obviously the scholarship is great, but it doesn't cover everything. Players often scramble for enough food, and have no money for fun activities outside of football. All this while companies make millions off of them.

Your logic is flawed. You essentially say "They get enough, so tough crap they don't need to be paid." Tom Brady has a fat contract, so do Dez Bryant and Tony Romo. Even with that, they still get paid for their jersey sales, to be in Madden, and anything else with their name. They don't say "well, my signing bonus was plenty so Nike can have every dime from my jersey sales, no biggie."

Imagine you're a student on scholarship. As a project you design a video game. Your professor then markets it, sells it, and makes millions. He turns to you and says "oh you don't get any of this money. Sure, its your product and design, but you're getting a free education! That's more than enough." You would be livid and rightfully so, because your professor is profiting off your work.

# 32 BROman @ 03/22/16 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dovuto86


	I hope you people realize that an NCAA game will never happen again. They would have to pay each player individually, meaning players from the power 5 conference colleges would get paid way more than the mid majors/ lower tiered schools. This will mess up recruiting terribly and put the mid majors/ lower schools at a huge disadvantage making college sports less competitive. If a top 10 quarterback recruit out of high school wants to go to Tulsa because its his hometown college, he wouldnt do it if they paid athletes because hed make way more money if he went to oklahoma or alabama. and also if a quarterback becomes a star at a college like Tulsa hed transfer the next season to an oklahoma or alabama so hed make way more money on endorsements and game license fees. Also if they try to even it out so that each player makes the same then the power 5 conference players would reject it asap because they feel they deserve way more money than the lower mid major players.

Unless a player is on the cover of Madden, every player- from Tom Brady to the Patriots practice squad QB, gets the same compensation from EA through the NFLPA.

# 33 EricM27 @ 03/22/16 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by itsbigmike


	They also run themselves ragged having to burn the candle at both ends with training, practice, film study, actual school study, classes and trying to have a normal social life. They're working far beyond a full time job on top of going to this school, while their coaches make anywhere from six-to-seven figures on the backs of their hard work -- not to mention the lack of a penalty when the coach they signed on to play for bolts for a better job because these kids excelled on the field. Great, they get the education, but how many are being shoehorned into false degrees that do nothing for them in the future? This says nothing of the schools committing academic fraud to keep their players on the field. When you're not learning anything because your courses aren't worth a crap, the scholarship money means little. If the coach's' success is worth, collectively as a coaching staff, multi-millions of dollars, how much is the players worth? More than their scholarships.

Alright then, let them pay their own way through college and see how many wish they had their scholarship. You think the Lakers make $48 mil off of Kobe? No, they make way more. You will never make as much as your boss, get over it.

You're only put into these fake classes if you're a pathetic student. Those who work hard and actually go to class like they're suppose to are at an incredible advantage.

The only way players should receive compensation is by selling their own merchandise (used jerseys, signatures etc..). If they are talented enough to cause someone to pay for their signature then there's absolutely no reason that should be outlawed.

# 34 EricM27 @ 03/22/16 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by superxero27


	Beyond all this though, there is another problem. Compare a student on a full-ride football scholarship to a student on a full-ride academic scholarship. Both students are going to college "for free." Both students have to meet some sort of academic eligibility in order to maintain that scholarship. Both students have to balance class, extracurriculars, and everyday life. The student on the academic scholarship can get a job wherever they want to bring in additional income to offset the costs of those things that aren't free (and there are a lot of those costs). The athlete cannot, either due to time/schedule constraints or NCAA eligibility rules. The academic student would be able to profit from their likeness if anyone were interested (for example publishing their research for a per-access fee). The academic student would be able to accept all kinds of other financial assistance from outside influences (since they don't have to report to the NCAA), whereas the athlete cannot. When you realize that the full-ride athletes are probably more likely to come from poverty than the full-ride academics, and that (as the NCAA loves to point out) the vast majority of them will "go pro in something other than sports" you see the machinations of a flawed system. Allowing athletes similar access to profit from their likeness as a regular student would help address this imbalance. And it's not like the video game companies aren't willing to do so. EA is basically standing outside waving fistfulls of money begging to be let in.

No one said being an athlete was easy. I don't have as much spare time as my friends, I can't get a job because of practice, I have to cancel weekend plans because of games.. It comes with the house, it's hard to be a student-athlete, a lot of people can't handle it.

# 35 SilverBullet19 @ 03/23/16 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dovuto86


	I hope you people realize that an NCAA game will never happen again. They would have to pay each player individually, meaning players from the power 5 conference colleges would get paid way more than the mid majors/ lower tiered schools. This will mess up recruiting terribly and put the mid majors/ lower schools at a huge disadvantage making college sports less competitive. If a top 10 quarterback recruit out of high school wants to go to Tulsa because its his hometown college, he wouldnt do it if they paid athletes because hed make way more money if he went to oklahoma or alabama. and also if a quarterback becomes a star at a college like Tulsa hed transfer the next season to an oklahoma or alabama so hed make way more money on endorsements and game license fees. Also if they try to even it out so that each player makes the same then the power 5 conference players would reject it asap because they feel they deserve way more money than the lower mid major players.

#1: There's no reason certain players would be paid more than others. They all have the same role in the game, and would receive the same compensation. The only difference is if they are the cover athlete. Madden works the same. Brady doesn't get a bigger chunk than Fitzpatrick just because he is a star.

Even in the O'Bannon lawsuit, the players getting more money were that face of the suit, the rest get equal cuts.

#2: I severely doubt Power 5 conferences would try to get their players paid more than others. The schools have plenty to deal with and how much a video game companies pays their players is the least of their concern.

The idea for pay is a stipend, not a contract. EA sends a letter asking to use the players name and likeness for $XX dollars, same is sent to every player. The player either accepts it, or doesn't. If they don't, they're not in the game. Its what they do in Madden. They don't take the time and negotiate a contract with each player, or each school, thats too much time invested. Its a "take it or leave it" deal. That's why even in madden, every once in a great while there #51 or #17...that player didn't sign the agreement.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricM27


	No one said being an athlete was easy. I don't have as much spare time as my friends, I can't get a job because of practice, I have to cancel weekend plans because of games.. It comes with the house, it's hard to be a student-athlete, a lot of people can't handle it.

The old "you knew what you were getting into" idea. Many students really didn't realize it would be that difficult to make things work. They stick to the sport because they love it. Meanwhile their image, jerseys, and anything else they are on is sold for a huge profit. EA wants to pay them (and really, not even a lot) to be in the game. The amount each player would get is still almost nothing, but it could cover some meals and clothes for a little bit.

# 36 whitey7886 @ 03/23/16 08:52 PM

This my be a silly idea or something people wouldn't want. If the game must have real people in it then what if EA made 2017 with the kids drafted this year. Pay them to be in the game and make everyone else generic? Or do 2 years ago so you have kids from 2015 and 2016 in the game. Then allow you to cutom everything. In this case you would have real players and the game. This is just an idea that popped into my head. The downfall is you have last years team but you can always sim and then have them drafted but you would also be able to update the rest of the players if you wanted. HEck at this point I would buy it to have a new NCAA game.

# 37 buckeyezombie @ 03/26/16 07:41 PM

EA is not going to jump through all those hoops to make another college football game. I wish they would, but this is too big of a legal quagmire to go to each school and player

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

# 38 theepicman115 @ 03/28/16 12:30 PM

when I played (and still do play) NCAA games on my Xbox 360 (if NCAA 14 came out for next gen, I would have given away my 360 a long time ago and just have my ps4), I don't ever remember seeing EXACT representation of the players in real life. Yeah you saw the big name player's numbers, but they had a different name in game and just a generic face. How many players do you see that are quarterbacks, are white and has the number 2 on his jersey? Probably a lot.

Either way, I hope EA pays the players and sorts out a deal soon with the NCAA, schools, and conferences soon. Because I miss having a new college football game every year.

# 39 redsox4evur @ 03/28/16 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theepicman115


	when I played (and still do play) NCAA games on my Xbox 360 (if NCAA 14 came out for next gen, I would have given away my 360 a long time ago and just have my ps4), I don't ever remember seeing EXACT representation of the players in real life. Yeah you saw the big name player's numbers, but they had a different name in game and just a generic face. How many players do you see that are quarterbacks, are white and has the number 2 on his jersey? Probably a lot. Either way, I hope EA pays the players and sorts out a deal soon with the NCAA, schools, and conferences soon. Because I miss having a new college football game every year.

It's not the names and faces. It's all the personal information like birthplace, height, weight, home state, etc. How many white QB's that are 6'0, 214 pounds, from Tyler Texas, wearing #2? Probably not many.

# 40 jello1717 @ 03/28/16 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theepicman115


	when I played (and still do play) NCAA games on my Xbox 360 (if NCAA 14 came out for next gen, I would have given away my 360 a long time ago and just have my ps4), I don't ever remember seeing EXACT representation of the players in real life. Yeah you saw the big name player's numbers, but they had a different name in game and just a generic face. How many players do you see that are quarterbacks, are white and has the number 2 on his jersey? Probably a lot. Either way, I hope EA pays the players and sorts out a deal soon with the NCAA, schools, and conferences soon. Because I miss having a new college football game every year.

You either have a bad recollection, or you're looking through rose colored glasses. There's no doubt that EA used real players in their game.

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College Players Set to Get Their Share of a $60 Million Settlement with EA