It took a while to come together, but players who had their likeness used in the retired NCAA Football video game franchise from EA Sports are now receiving their compensation from a civil lawsuit ending in their favor. The amount each player is receiving varies, but some players have claimed to be getting checks a bit more profitable than they initially expected.
Former Florida Gator Channing Crowder received his check, for $485.93 earlier today…
Got my NCAA/EA likeness Settlement payment today. I was only at UF 2 yrs, so that's bout $243/yr. ??? Well… ???? pic.twitter.com/NLG17yiPOe
— Channing Crowder (@OfficialCrowder) April 11, 2016
Others may have received their compensation previously…
That EA SPORTS and NCAA law suit check is fatter then I thought it was gonna be 😳
— Tevrin Brandon (@TevrinBrandon6) February 19, 2016
It was expected the full payments would have to be spread out because it was going to take a good amount of time to determine how much each player joining the lawsuit were entitled to receive. Video game rosters are maxed at a certain number that may be lower than an actual college football roster, so just because a player played college football while the video game was on the market, does not necessarily mean they may have been included. So this was always going to be a complicated process, and with $60 million to split, there was no simple way to go about it fairly.
EA Sports shut down the NCAA Football video game franchise two years ago as schools, conferences and the NCAA were pulling out of the game amid the legal battles. Because the game has been released in the last four years (twice), some current college football players should be expecting compensation checks as well. The NCAA has already confirmed players receiving checks from EA Sports will not be subject to any penalties for accepting payment, which is typically a no-no in the NCAA. That was a smart move, but also one that had to be made considering the circumstances.
But the big question now, for many of you, is when EA Sports will get back to producing a college football game alongside its hugely popular Madden NFL franchise. The answer to that is, well, we don’t know. The college football world may be evolving to a more relaxed state when it comes to some level of compensation for player likenesses, but it is far from ready to dive head first into paying players. This is reason enough for EA Sports to proceed with caution and wait for all the green lights before jumping back into the game here. Many will hope for a surprise announcement, perhaps at E3 later this summer, but the reality is EA Sports may have no real concrete plan to bring the game back in the next few years, at least until the NCAA irons out its stance on player endorsements and player likenesses.
The fans are there waiting, including Kirk Herbstreit. The players are there too. We’re just waiting for the NCAA and EA Sports to agree the time is right to revive the franchise.
