The NCAA Football video game was one of the most popular sports video games at the time it was still on shelves. The last NCAA game to be made was NCAA Football 14, selling over 1 million copies. The game was made by EA Sports and allowed you to control and compete against current Division I FBS college teams. The game featured all of the players on each team and allowed you to play as any of them, but never stated their names. The characters in the game were modeled after the real-life college players. This was where all of the issues for this franchise occurred.
The NCAA did not pay the athletes for the use of their likenesses in the game and were issued a violation of the federal antitrust law. The individual colleges licensed their logos, uniforms, and stadiums and the NCAA licensed out its name, but EA’s downfall was their choice to use barely modified versions of real people. The lawsuit, from prior college player Ed O’Bannon, asked the NCAA to not enforce their rules so the athletes can receive compensation for licensing of their names, images, or likenesses. But nothing positive came out of this lawsuit. The NCAA did not fulfill the proposition by O’Bannon and EA canceled the further production of their game.
It has been five years since the last release of an NCAA Football video game, yet the controversy is still relevant today. If the NCAA would let players and EA negotiate licensing so the schools could make their own deals with their players, then the game could return. Although the games return is highly anticipated, there is still no plan to create and release a new game due to the lawsuit. Despite this, NCAA Football 14, the last edition of the game, continues to be played by fans. Unofficial updates created by fans have been released with current up to date rosters. As of right now, this is the closest thing fans will get to finally receiving a new NCAA football game.
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Very interesting post, Tyler. I think it is cool how this game, although discontinued a few years ago, is still played by fans. This controversy behind paying NCAA athletes for use of their name in a game is very two-sided. It is difficult to argue against the morals of denying these players payment or compensation, but it is also very hard to dispute the legal contract that they signed when getting recruited. We can only hope that there is some sort of middle ground reached in the near future.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post describing another debate with the NCAA and how they don't pay their players, despite all the revenue being brought in by them. The NCAA has full power and receives many benefits by having these athletes not be professional and with paid contracts, which is extremely valuable for them.
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