Madden NFL 15 News Post

Colin Kaepernick Will Be the Only Player in Madden NFL 15 with Tattoos

03:26 PM - June 5, 2014 by Steve_OS

Polygon's Samit Sarkar interviewed Seann Graddy, line producer of Madden NFL 15 and asked him why tattoos are making their way back to the Madden series and what was the reason for their disappearance.

Many people figured it was a licensing agreement with EA and the NFL, but that is not the case. According to Seann, it comes down to copyright infringement. The player needs to secure permission from the artist first, which Kaepernick did, before EA can even begin to implement the tattoos into the game.

Quote:


	For now, Kaepernick is the only player who will appear in Madden 15 with his authentic tattoos, because he's the only one who has obtained the permissions from the artists involved. "We want to do this with every player, frankly, and we're hopeful that more players over time actually go out and secure the rights so that we can use their tattoos as well," said Graddy.

If another players wants his tattoos in the game, they need to go through the same process as Kaepernick. Since the game is almost complete, the odds of getting anyone else in the game with authentic tattoos is slim. We'll most likely see more players with tattoos in Madden NFL 16.

Game: Madden NFL 15Reader Score: 6.5/10 - Vote Now
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Member Comments

# 161 inkcil @ 06/09/14 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadman


	It's already been explained in this thread that the NFLPA is different than the players union in the NBA.

But isn't this a tattoo artist's licensing/copyright issue rather than a player union issue? Does either player union care if tattoos are in a game? Is it a player union's burden if a tattoo artist sues a game developer? Did the tattoo artist sue the NFLPA as well as EA over the Rickey Williams tattoo cover art? What am I missing? (sorry for the multiple questions)

# 162 shylo3716 @ 06/13/14 11:13 PM

I skimmed through a few pages and read some of the comments posted before I decided to construct this and I did not see anyone speak on the issue I present.

I totally am aware that all the athletes in the game are professional players, but that does not necessarily mean they have professional artwork on their bodies. Where I am going with this is that tattoos are growing extremely fast among the New Generation, and within this culture athletes are being tattooed in their early teens. Many of these kids are professional athletes now and have artwork that has not been performed professionally in a tattoo shop.

So how would those players go about getting rights to the work from artists that they may never be able to come in contact with again?

# 163 mmorg @ 06/14/14 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by inkcil


	But isn't this a tattoo artist's licensing/copyright issue rather than a player union issue? Does either player union care if tattoos are in a game?

Yes, the NFLPA cares.

# 164 roadman @ 06/14/14 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by inkcil


	But isn't this a tattoo artist's licensing/copyright issue rather than a player union issue? Does either player union care if tattoos are in a game? Is it a player union's burden if a tattoo artist sues a game developer? Did the tattoo artist sue the NFLPA as well as EA over the Rickey Williams tattoo cover art? What am I missing? (sorry for the multiple questions)

It was the NFLPA union that initiated the whole thing, I can't tell you about the NBA union. I'm assuming the NBA union has no issues with this matter if we haven't heard about.

# 165 jpdavis82 @ 08/13/14 12:18 PM

I just saw this and didn't want to make a new thread for it , but Von Miller has the rights to his and got a scan yesterday for Madden, unlikely it will be added to M15, most likely 16.
Attachment 80594

@jpdavis1982: @ClintOldenburg I saw this pic of @Millerlite40 in reference to face scans yesterday, is this a tattoo scan? http://t.co/qV9QP1D4a0

@ClintOldenburg: @jpdavis1982 @Millerlite40 yes, but unlikely to make it in to '15. We are building a catalogue for now AND future!

@ClintOldenburg: @jpdavis1982 keep in mind, each player must own the rights to all his work to get scanned. Different than NBA rules.

# 166 aholbert32 @ 08/13/14 02:08 PM

What do you guys think about my suggestion?

@ClintOldenburg @mrprice33 Why doesnt Madden use fake tattoos in place of the real ones for the players that dont own the rights? (cont.)
— Aaron Holbert (@aholbert32) August 13, 2014

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@aholbert32 @mrprice33 cuz that's not 'sim'!
— Clint Oldenburg (@ClintOldenburg) August 13, 2014

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@aholbert32 matter of opinion, but I'm tatted up myself and would not appreciate seeing 'generics' in that place. Just me though
— Clint Oldenburg (@ClintOldenburg) August 13, 2014

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# 167 aholbert32 @ 08/13/14 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big FN Deal


	Good suggestion and I almost posted a similar post, except I figured some would have an issue with the lack of authenticity, as Clint referred to. So my next idea was to just have a tattoo editor including in the options for player editing, where Users can create designs and have them converted into tats/ink images. However I didn't post that because I felt like that would be considered a waste or at least low priority use of resources, so I didn't post anything until now.

I just dont agree with Clint on this one. I think its less authentic to have no tattoos.

# 168 jeremym480 @ 08/13/14 03:12 PM

I would prefer a tattoo that looks similar in their place. I know that apparently it's a "licencing issue", so why not do like The Show does with these types of issues. For example, where they change the Chick Fil A cow at Turner Field into a Dalmatian. I mean, (IMO) something there would be better than nothing and it would help the players from all looking the same.

And honestly really only super fans or tattoo enthusiast would know the difference between what's real and what's "close to real". Well, I wouldn't anyway. I don't think I could pick any NFL's players tattoos out of a lineup, but it's not something that I pay close attention to.

# 169 aholbert32 @ 08/13/14 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeremym480


	I would prefer a tattoo that looks similar in their place. I know that apparently it's a "licencing issue", so why not do like The Show does with these types of issues. For example, where they change the Chick Fil A cow at Turner Field into a Dalmatian. I mean, (IMO) something there would be better than nothing and it would help the players from all looking the same. And honestly really only super fans or tattoo enthusiast would know the difference between what real and what's "close to real". Well, I wouldn't anyway. I don't think I could pick any NFL's players tattoos out of a lineup, but it's not something that I pay close attention to.

Exactly. This is different than NBA where the uniforms make it easy to see each tat and the tattoos are more prominent. I cant tell you what Kobe's and Lebron's tats say. I have no idea what Marshawn Lynch or Colin's tats look like AT ALL. I just know they have tats.

# 170 Dbsmith22 @ 08/13/14 03:39 PM

They should def just do generic tats instead of one player having them

# 171 CT Pitbull @ 08/13/14 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aholbert32


	I just dont agree with Clint on this one. I think its less authentic to have no tattoos.

Yup. I 100% agree with you there. I just wanna see them. I could care less if they are correct or not. Put something reasonable in its place until you have the rights.

If you told me EVERY single tat in NBA2k14 was fake I would have no clue and I couldn't care less. I don't look to see what they are. I just know they are there and they LOOK real. Also they make the player models look that much more official.

# 172 bad_philanthropy @ 08/13/14 03:59 PM

Should definitely have generic types of tattoos. You can pretty much do a few generics of multiple types; shoulder, forearm, whole sleeve ("tribal," Polynesian, religious icon, etc...) you've generally got a decent stand in for most tatted players.

# 173 kehlis @ 08/13/14 04:00 PM

I'm starting to think I am but, am I the only person who wouldn't even recognize fake tattoos from real ones?

# 174 CT Pitbull @ 08/13/14 04:25 PM

Another reason why generic tats are gonna be the way to go for the time being is how long have some players been in the league and they STILL don't have their face scanned?

How long do you think it is going to take EA and the players for that matter to track down every tattoo artist for every player in the NFL that has tats? Not to mention every year a whole new class of player come in the league.

I would say now that they made the leap to do this. Having some generic tats to slap on is the way EA SHOULD go.

# 175 mestevo @ 08/13/14 04:34 PM

In the age of easily shareable video and threads celebrating the photographic side of these games I don't see generics ever happening... can see both sides of that argument though.

# 176 jmurphy31 @ 08/13/14 04:39 PM

It's an interesting debate. Fake or none. I personally can't recall any players tattoos especially in football. But some people complain if a players FaceMask is wrong.

# 177 hanzsomehanz @ 08/13/14 04:58 PM

We already been down this path re; Kap being the only auhentic owner of tats and the rest rocking generics since day 1 when they released the announcement of Kap being the only one who will rock authentic tats until others get their rights released.

I appreciate seeing a response from EA tho re it is not Sim - would like to see that stance in the coming future re gameplay designs.

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# 178 SiNsinNatti @ 08/13/14 05:13 PM

Really feel like EA should give a hoot if people complain about generic tats. Until you have the rights to your tattoos and they get scanned all players should just have generic tats. It would help the visual aesthetics of the game. Sometimes just seeing a bunch of bland plain arms on EVERYONE looks weird. Kap's plain arms in M25 next gen freak me out a little. He looks like a default character like all the other default characters. Seeing all players with similar generic tattoos would be an improvement.

# 179 hanzsomehanz @ 08/13/14 05:25 PM

Open Q: Aholbert fwrd his feedback today but was there any feedback fwrd in June at the inception of this thread?

I ask because the very point he raised was raised and supported in the first five pages of this thread.

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# 180 mestevo @ 08/13/14 05:40 PM

There was dialog at the time and they read the forums.

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