CNBC Reporter: Players Will Win NCAA Football Suit vs. EA
CNBC Reporter: Players Will Win NCAA Football Suit vs. EA
July 13, 2009
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.
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Posted 11/21/09 at 09:21am
magic_taco: ...ok...
magic_taco: ...ok...
Posted 11/21/09 at 08:16am
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ZippyDSMlee: Welcome and goodmorning its zippy in the AM....wat OMG its 8:50AM!!!!
Posted 11/20/09 at 05:42pm
ZippyDSMlee: oh may the cute stab out your eyes, http://www.youtube.com/user/simonscat
ZippyDSMlee: oh may the cute stab out your eyes, http://www.youtube.com/user/simonscat
Posted 11/20/09 at 05:17pm
JDKJ: O.K. Suit yourself. But when you're wearing Ray-Bans, sitting on a curb with a white cane and a cup of pencils, and doing Stevie Wonder impersonations, don't say I didn't warn you.
JDKJ: O.K. Suit yourself. But when you're wearing Ray-Bans, sitting on a curb with a white cane and a cup of pencils, and doing Stevie Wonder impersonations, don't say I didn't warn you.
Posted 11/20/09 at 05:10pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:No thank you I don;t want your cooties...or STDs...
ZippyDSMlee: JD:No thank you I don;t want your cooties...or STDs...
Posted 11/20/09 at 05:01pm
JDKJ: Me. I'm rehearsing the role just in case I do get dubbed Zippy The Soecnda.
JDKJ: Me. I'm rehearsing the role just in case I do get dubbed Zippy The Soecnda.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:59pm
DarkSaber: Wait, is that meant to be Zippy, me or you?
DarkSaber: Wait, is that meant to be Zippy, me or you?
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:49pm
JDKJ: I cud caer lez. =^^= *wakes up in mid-afternoon after staying up until 3:00AM soldering resistors on to circuit boards, stumbles around in formerly white but now grey underwear, while simultaneously scratching groin with vigor and making coffee*
JDKJ: I cud caer lez. =^^= *wakes up in mid-afternoon after staying up until 3:00AM soldering resistors on to circuit boards, stumbles around in formerly white but now grey underwear, while simultaneously scratching groin with vigor and making coffee*
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:46pm
DarkSaber: knell? Don't you mean Neil? Anymore of tht and I'll dub thee Zippy The Soecnda
DarkSaber: knell? Don't you mean Neil? Anymore of tht and I'll dub thee Zippy The Soecnda
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:44pm
JDKJ: Now, now, Saber. Don't be salty. You weren't the first one to knell and bob and you ain't gonna be the last one, either.
JDKJ: Now, now, Saber. Don't be salty. You weren't the first one to knell and bob and you ain't gonna be the last one, either.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:42pm
DarkSaber: JD's feeling rather desperate it seems.
DarkSaber: JD's feeling rather desperate it seems.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:33pm
JDKJ: C'mon, Zip. You already touch yourself way too much. Spread the love. Before you go blind.
JDKJ: C'mon, Zip. You already touch yourself way too much. Spread the love. Before you go blind.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:27pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:No and I ain't touching any part of you or your friends!! :P
ZippyDSMlee: JD:No and I ain't touching any part of you or your friends!! :P
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:25pm
JDKJ: @Zip: You know Lik Mitaint?
JDKJ: @Zip: You know Lik Mitaint?
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:18pm
ZippyDSMlee: neill and bob,oldest giveing head joke and most lamest...
ZippyDSMlee: neill and bob,oldest giveing head joke and most lamest...
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:18pm
JDKJ: But thanks for the memory. MIB's a classic. *sings* "Here come the Men in Black. Galaxy defenders. Here come the Men in Black. They won't let you remember."
JDKJ: But thanks for the memory. MIB's a classic. *sings* "Here come the Men in Black. Galaxy defenders. Here come the Men in Black. They won't let you remember."
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:18pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:for the record I told you you can suck your own dck.
ZippyDSMlee: JD:for the record I told you you can suck your own dck.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:07pm
JDKJ: Naw, man. That's Mueedeegiaap and Bob. And you can stop bobbing. I got Zippy bobbing now, too.
JDKJ: Naw, man. That's Mueedeegiaap and Bob. And you can stop bobbing. I got Zippy bobbing now, too.
Posted 11/20/09 at 03:56pm
DarkSaber: OH I get it now! It's Men In Black quote! The twins that run the comm centre in HQ.
DarkSaber: OH I get it now! It's Men In Black quote! The twins that run the comm centre in HQ.
Posted 11/20/09 at 03:49pm
JDKJ: I'd like to introduce you to them. First, Neil. Then, Bob.
JDKJ: I'd like to introduce you to them. First, Neil. Then, Bob.
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Comments
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?
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."
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.
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.
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."
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
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.
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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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
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..
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com
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.
"You know what I wish? I wish all the scum of the Earth had one throat and I had my hands about it."