Report: EA Sports settles lawsuits with thousands of college players
EA Sports reportedly has settled lawsuits with college players including Ed O'Bannon. (Isaac Brekken, AP)
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA Sports) and Collegiate Licensing Co. have settled class-action lawsuits on Thursday afternoon regarding their use of college players' likenesses for an undetermined amount, CBSSports.com reports.
The settlement includes lawsuits filed by former Rutgers quarterback Ryan Hart, former Nebraska and Arizona State quarterback Sam Keller and former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon among the more than 100,000 current and former college players whose likenesses have appeared in EA Sports' college basketball and college football vide games since 2003. The settlement reportedly does not include O'Bannon's ongoing fight against the NCAA over the rights to player likenesses.
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From CBS Sports:
It was not immediately clear if the eligibility of current players will be affected by accepting settlement checks.
“I'm disappointed in that because there should be a game,” said plaintiffs' attorney Eugene Egdorf. “All that has to happen is the NCAA allow players to be paid and there would be a game. This is Step 1 to players being paid that should.
“There will be players who play Saturday who should be paid [for their services] as they should be.”
