For the first time ever, NCAA athletes will be compensated for their name, image and likeness after U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken approved a $60 million settlement for athletes who were featured in EA Sports’s NCAA Football video game series.
The NCAA Football series never used names of football players, but always featured teams with accurate roster numbers and corresponding attributes. (For the uninitiated, Tim Tebow’s name was never in the game, but Florida would “QB #15” on its roster, who threw left-handed and was rated highly in all the places you would expect Tebow to be.) The thinly-veiled representations were challenged in court, and now players will finally benefit.
Wilken also ruled against the NCAA in the Ed O’Bannon case, a decision which has since been appealed.
Athletes have until July 31 to file claims for compensation. The NCAA Football series was discontinued in 2013 due to the pending legal case. And that’s kind of not being talked about enough. I fucking miss those games.
[AP]
Photo via Associated Press