How Ed O'Bannon killed NCAA Football

Thanks, Ed. Now NCAA Football 14 may be the last college football video game any of us can enjoy.

Yesterday The NCAA pulled the plug on their relationship with EA Sports. The NCAA released the following statement:

    The NCAA has made the decision not to enter a new contract for the license of its name and logo for the EA Sports NCAA Football video game. The current contract expires in June 2014, but our timing is based on the need to provide EA notice for future planning. As a result, the NCAA Football 2014 video game will be the last to include the NCAA’s name and logo. We are confident in our legal position regarding the use of our trademarks in video games. But given the current business climate and costs of litigation, we determined participating in this game is not in the best interests of the NCAA.

    The NCAA has never licensed the use of current student-athlete names, images or likenesses to EA. The NCAA has no involvement in licenses between EA and former student-athletes. Member colleges and universities license their own trademarks and other intellectual property for the video game. They will have to independently decide whether to continue those business arrangements in the future.

The NCAA made its decision amid continued litigation with former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon, who’s filed an antitrust lawsuit in hopes current student-athletes can see a share of the revenue generated by their abilities. The former UCLA basketball star didn't understand why he wasn't being paid when the NCAA and EA Sports used his likeness in video games after he was no longer an NCAA student-athlete. In NCAA Basketball 09, there is a character “PF-31” that is similar to the 6-foot-8 O’Bannon — the player shoots left-handed, plays power forward and has O'Bannon's jersey -- No. 31.

The problem is that when you play an NCAA sport, you have to sign a waiver that relinquishes your right to make money off your likeness as an NCAA athlete (Jerseys, Programs, Books, etc.) The NCAA let EA Sports use those players' likenesses in video games, like the NCAA Football and NCAA March Madness franchises. Ed O’Bannon signed the waiver while he was a current student-athlete. He is arguing that by having a character that so much resembles himself, he and other former athletes should be entitled to some type of compensation. A trial is tentatively scheduled for 2014. A judge recently ruled that current NCAA athletes could also be listed as plaintiffs in the suit.

This seems like it will be the end of the line for EA Sports and College Football. But wait, just hours after the statement from the NCAA, Andrew Wilson, Executive Vice President of EA SPORTS released a statement regarding the future of the Football franchise:

By now, most fans will have heard that EA's licensing agreement with the NCAA is set to expire and that we have agreed to part ways.  I'm sure gamers are wondering what this means.

This is simple:  EA SPORTS will continue to develop and publish college football games, but we will no longer include the NCAA names and marks.  Our relationship with the Collegiate Licensing Company is strong and we are already working on a new game for next generation consoles which will launch next year and feature the college teams, conferences and all the innovation fans expect from EA SPORTS.

We took big creative strides with this year's college game and you’ll see much more in the future.  We love college football and look forward to making more games for our fans.

Only time will tell what happens next. In the meantime, head over to your EA Sports Locker and download your favorite Team Builder schools and rosters and get prepared to play NCAA Football 14 for the next few years unless you loved Bill Walsh Football, EA’s first attempt at a College Football game, and its extensive list of college football powerhouses:

Alabama	Nebraska
Arizona	Provo (BYU)
Boston (Boston College)	Pullman (Wash. St.)
College Station (Texas A&M)	Raleigh (NC State)
Colorado	S.C. (USC)
Columbus (Ohio State)	South Bend (Notre Dame)
Florida	Stanford
Georgia	State College (Penn State)
Hawaii	Syracuse
Kansas	Tallahassee (Florida State)
Miami	Tennessee
Michigan	Washington

Ed should be happy that EA Sports used his likeness (allegedly) in any of its games.

His stellar NBA career didn’t warrant him being included in anything. If Ed O’Bannon wins this lawsuit, it could change the landscape of not just video games, but all NCAA sports and how players are compensated. Current Student-Athletes could end up getting a percentage of jersey sales, but that's a bridge we will cross when we get there.

Until next time...

Geoff

@Geoffrey_Craig