NCAA Football 10 launches at midnight with a pair of lawsuits filed by one-time college football stars hanging over its head.
The former players allege that they weren't compensated for the use of their likenesses. On CNBC this morning, Sports Business Reporter Darren Rovell covers the controversy and concludes that the players will win their lawsuit:
If the copies of Electronic Arts' NCAA Football '10 that we received are the same that hit stores at midnight, the damages against the video game company and the NCAA could grow in the suit against them...
I reviewed the top 10 players in college football... Every single one... was within two inches of their real height and 10 pounds of their real weight in the game. Four athletes... were listed at their exact heights and weights. Every single one of them had the correct eligibility status and 9... had the correct birthplace listed on the in-game bio page.
All jersey numbers were accurate, including [Jeremiah] Masoli, who switched his number from 2 to 8 in the offseason... [Tim] Tebow is wearing a big wristband on his right arm in the game, as he does in real life...
Should [plaintiff Sam] Keller eventually prevail in this lawsuit, as I believe he will, all the athletes who were infringed on this year will be entitled to get cut in on a piece of the damages.
Via: Fanster
Comments
Re: CNBC Reporter: Players Will Win NCAA Football Suit vs. ...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but these are both individual suits...not class action lawsuits. So if these guys win, other players are going to be coming out of the woodwork to get their cut....which could really hurt EA because unlike the NFL case...there is no collective body to payout to like a player's union.
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Re: CNBC Reporter: Players Will Win NCAA Football Suit vs. ...
This seems so simple to fix, you join with a league they are allowed to use your likeness in anything they wish , at the same time so can players as long as its not against a few rules(doing stuff that harms the NCAA reputation,ect) where a percentage(10%) of the endorsement,ect goes to the league, Whatever the current licensing fee is you double it and half of it is goes to the players who are involved in the project, just split it down to equal proportions.
If you are a student whatever is used the profit you earn from it goes into a non interest acrewing account and will be made available the moment they either leave collage,get hurt or join the league.
This way every one gets a piece of the pie and it makes it easier to use players people like and are willing to spend 60$ a year every year on.....
I am a criminal because I purchase media,I am a criminal because I use media, I am a criminal because I chose to own media..We shall remain criminals until Corporate stay's outside our bedrooms..
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Re: CNBC Reporter: Players Will Win NCAA Football Suit vs. ...
Makes you wonder why EA didn't have the brains to take five minutes to randomise the data. Putting person X's name with Y's height and weight and Z's number. Couldn't take that much effort since the info is already in the system and it would've spared them some pain.
Re: CNBC Reporter: Players Will Win NCAA Football Suit vs. ...
That's working under the large assumption that EA don't think all their consumers are utterly stupid. And they have demonstrated they believe this more than once.
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Re: CNBC Reporter: Players Will Win NCAA Football Suit vs. ...
There may be a clause in all future NCAA games over players giving up the right of their "image" or likeness for videogames licensed by NCAA. It won't be the end of the franchise (or for that matter checks being cut to players). But the NCAA will do something because this is too much of a cash cow for them to pass up on.
Foaming at the mouth
Re: CNBC Reporter: Players Will Win NCAA Football Suit vs. ...
So what's the deal here. Did EA just make the game without getting consent for the images, or was the consent not properly documented, or are the players out to lunch because they don't think they got enough money?
I'm not trying to be an EA whipping boy, but I find it hard to believe that they would go to that level of detail, and then just say "Yeah... lets not pay them, even though we routinely license peoples images all the time, lets just screw them THIS time"
I guess my real question is, what defense card is EA trying to play?
Re: CNBC Reporter: Players Will Win NCAA Football Suit vs. ...
With NCAA players, you can't use their name or likeness in any sort of commercial venture. It's the same reason the jerseys in the game don't have their name on the back of them, probably because the NCAA doesn't want to shell out money to the players for the right to use it. There's a small writeup here, which also says "The NCAA Bylaw 12.5.1(h) prohibits the use of student-athlete likeness for promotional or commercial purposes."
Re: CNBC Reporter: Players Will Win NCAA Football Suit vs. ...
Ahh, i get it...
Okay, i'm gonna jump aboard the "EA is screwed" wagon. Unless, of course, they provide some doumentation to prove that the NCAA gave them permission, in which case it suddenly becomes the "NCAA is screwed" wagon.
Re: CNBC Reporter: Players Will Win NCAA Football Suit vs. ...
yeah, since they're still considered amature (i believe) they aren't allowed to recieve money for what they do (i think, i hate football so i'm not sure).
even though in reality, with all the tuition and scholarships they get, it's as if someone paid them.
Re: CNBC Reporter: Players Will Win NCAA Football Suit vs. ...
That's an NCAA regulation. There's also something about past payment for playing that I don't understand, but it kept Lucca Staiger from playing basketball for Iowa State in the '07-'08 season because of when he played in his native Germany.
And as much as I dislike that they're essentially paid to play in the form of scholarships, often full ride, what I dislike more is that some of the NCAA regulations are horrible for players. For example, if your head coach bails on you, you either stay at the college the coach bailed on, or you lose eligibility for a year, while your coach signs on somewhere else and gets to coach without penalty. I'm looking at you, Gene Chizik.
Yeah, I'm a disgruntled Iowa State fan. At least a close friend of mine goes to KU, so I can like at least one good team.
"That's not ironic. That's justice."