ESPN: More College Properties Might Not Licensing to EA

[RaychelSnr]

ESPN's Kristi Dosh wrote an extensive piece on how much schools make from EA Sports each year while also throwing in a few nuggets about other properties and their status with the game. Among them, one of Dosh's sources claims that he/she has "very serious doubts" about if the Playoff will end up licensing to EA for next year's game.

This doesn't mean, however, there won't be a playoff in the game -- just the official branding and such that goes with it might not be there. The news is the same for Bowl games, as some haven't decided on inclusion yet. So instead of the Chick-Fil-A Bowl you'd get a bowl called the Atlanta Bowl or something like that.

Another thing Dosh pointed out in the article, as have I in the past couple of weeks, that the amount of money most schools make on the EA games is generally less than 5% of their total licensing revenue. Some schools saw their licensing numbers from EA down in the less than 2% range of total licensing revenue. A careful study of these figures, especially for private institutions, would likely give some indications about which schools might be able and willing to discontinue their license with EA Sports in the future.

It is likely schools could end their relationship with EA Sports at any time, as the finances for getting out of a current contract are likely reasonable enough that such a jump would be easy to make, especially if a university feels they may be on the hook for millions from future lawsuits by being involved in future games.So while all but one school appears to be in next year's game -- that doesn't indicate that schools won't jump in the future. Arkansas, Kentucky, and Washington are just three schools which have indicated they are on the fence about participating in future EA Sports games.

Also, while reports were contradictory on the status of the SEC a couple of weeks ago, Dosh clears that up by saying the SEC will appear in one more game to fulfill their current contract with EA. After that, the SEC has decided not to include their marks in the game.

[JayD]

This is really starting to get ridiculous.

[bad_philanthropy]

It's not just about revenue for these schools. Their presence in the game is valuable as advertising for not only their school but other revenue streams like merchandise.

But yes, all this crap is getting out of hand. I just want the court case to end so everything is clear. Just put the game on hiatus until it's all over.

[BenGerman]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: our only hope at a full game past next year is for that lawsuit to be settled.

[EAGLESFAN10]

They can't be serious

[Gr4h4mb0]

Lets say that EA has to use generic teams, would that affect Nike's design in the uniforms too? I could deal with generic teams if they had sleek modern uniform touches to them.

[Gr4h4mb0]

Quote: Originally Posted by BenGerman

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: our only hope at a full game past next year is for that lawsuit to be settled.

Agreed 100%

[sportzbro]

All this is isn't a huge deal if EA gives us a game with the tools to fully customize bowls, playoffs, logos, conferences, conference logos, teams, uniforms, stadiums, etc. BUT that will obviously never happen given their track record over the last decade.