Judge Nixes NCAA Players Antitrust Claims -- Case Not Over...Yet

[bkrich83]

Re: Judge Nixes NCAA Players Antitrust Claims -- Case Not Over...Yet

no i believe they do it and you basically are signing your rights over for life.

Considering no one wanted to use my likeness and no one would ever want to, I was ok with that.

[GoToledo]

Re: Judge Nixes NCAA Players Antitrust Claims -- Case Not Over...Yet

Actually, yes they do. Heck, I was a DIII Cross Country runner and I signed over my likeness.

I believe this is correct. Signing over your likeness IS part of the deal, at least according to some friends who played football at Toledo when I was there.

[saunders45]

Re: Judge Nixes NCAA Players Antitrust Claims -- Case Not Over...Yet

Thats a bad comparison. One, giving players a small percentage of the tv rights fees would not cause TV networks to start charging for all televised sports games. The goal of a TV network is to get as many people to watch its programming as possible. Making college football completely pay per view would be counter to that.

Two, a decent comparison to the video game dispute is apparel like jerseys and t-shirts. A video game is a product. EA and the NCAA are selling that product partially bu using the likeness of college players. Just like the NCAA is doing the same thing with most of the jerseys it sells.

What do you think TV networks do? They market games using actual player images (not generic digital models) in advertising the games. They also broadcast real footage of the players. They pay the schools & conference boatloads of money to broadcast games. Why? To sell billions and billions in advertising.

If they players get a chunk of that pie, you're insanely naive if you think ABC/ESPN/FSN are going to absorb that cost. It will get passed onto the cable providers and advertisers. Now that the Cable providers and advertisers/manufacturers are having to pay more money, who's going to absorb this increased cost? The consumers. Us.

[Kaiser Wilhelm]

Re: Judge Nixes NCAA Players Antitrust Claims -- Case Not Over...Yet

I'm just going to put my imput on this. As a high school senior, if a college was giving me a four year "free" ride, I would not be complaining.

College is not cheap and these players have the ability to go to class and get a degree. They chose to sign their letter of intent for the scholarship. Nobody forced them to do so. College loans are available and if you did well in high school getting acceptance to a decent college should not be that hard.

Forgive me if I do not have sypathy because these players are being "taken advantage of."

[agte]

Re: Judge Nixes NCAA Players Antitrust Claims -- Case Not Over...Yet

Forcing someone to sign something in order to participate, how is that a legal "offer and acceptance" for a contract? More like coercion.

The language the NCAA uses for the likeness waiver is utterly ridiculous. It states they can use their likeness in "perpetuity in this or any other universe".

The people saying the players are getting paid via a scholarship should wake up. These schools could give two craps if these kids goto school or graduate. Their direct supervisors, the coaching staffs, frankly care more about saving their own jobs than guiding the academic careers of their players. A simple look at graduation rates proves this. In addition a scholarship after the first year can be pulled at will to maintain an 85 man roster. Simple use and abuse.

Playing is a privilege not a right, and they tell you up front what the deal is. If you don't like it, you don't have to sign on the line.

that's just my 2 cents on the matter

[Dbrentonbuck]

Re: Judge Nixes NCAA Players Antitrust Claims -- Case Not Over...Yet

Playing is a privilege not a right, and they tell you up front what the deal is. If you don't like it, you don't have to sign on the line.

that's just my 2 cents on the matter

Exactly, like I said before, these guys knew way before they accepted a scholarship that there is an NCAA football game put out every year. I would venture to guess most of them played it. I am a UC Bearcats season ticket holder and interact with most team members on twitter and they ALL play this game. The only way they would have any kind of case or moral high ground would be to decline the scholarship and then sue the NCAA based on unfair practices. If you know this and you accept the scholarship, play 4 years and blow your chance at the NFL; don't come crying in court. It is weak.

[ODogg]

Re: Judge Nixes NCAA Players Antitrust Claims -- Case Not Over...Yet

I hate to say I told you so but....ah..no actually I love saying I told you so

[12]

Re: Judge Nixes NCAA Players Antitrust Claims -- Case Not Over...Yet

The line is here for me. If you have the 2011 Michigan Wolverines with a QB with the number 16 who is black and has dreds......thats Denard Robinson.

If you have the 2011 Michigan Wolverines with a QB with the number 14 who is white and has a mullet......thats not Denard Robinson.

Michigan QB #16 didn't have dreads in the game last year...

He also rushed 134 times for 468 yards in the first season of my dynasty...

That's not Denard Robinson...

Michigan QB #16 was a black, bald dude who could not run to save his life, as evidenced by his less than four yards per carry. He was a pocket passing QB with great speed but that didn't translate to the field.

I kid, I kid... but if a guy gets awarded $ for his likeness, it better be spot on. Right hometown, right hair cut, similar face, similar playing attributes. Otherwise, all you have is a video game character who wears your same number but that's where the similarities end.

I don't know what to think about it all... but it feels ridiculous to me.

[12]

Re: Judge Nixes NCAA Players Antitrust Claims -- Case Not Over...Yet

Will college games cease to exist if the players win this suit?

Would you be OK with that?

I think when you sign your scholarship, you agree to have your likeness used without getting a profit from it. It might not be fair, but you are getting a cost-free education out of the deal. If you don't like it, take your talents elsewhere. Hire a trainer and work out for the next three years and at the conclusion of that, enter the NFL draft.

You know what you're signing when you sign a letter of intent. The verbiage does cover likeness, if I'm not mistaken. You signed it, you played for three of four years on a scholarship -- you have no room to complain.

I readily admit that I might be wrong about the likeness issue and whether a letter of intent deals with that, but I believe it does.

If that's the case, you have no right to expect $ for your likeness being used.

There are other options for these players if they don't like that. Don't sign, do your own thing, and go pro on your own... Pay for your own college, if you ever choose to go.

I just don't think these athletes have a case.

If you love the game but support players being paid, prepare for the consequences for that. Like I said earlier, I believe college games will be no more. If you're cool with that, keep fighting the good fight.

[12]

Re: Judge Nixes NCAA Players Antitrust Claims -- Case Not Over...Yet

Do some people just love to debate? Love to be different? What's the deal?

For the ones siding with the Sam Keller's of the world, are you going to be satisfied with no college football game, or a game that is comprised of completely random players?

Just wondering what the line of thinking is here.

[Cryolemon]

Re: Judge Nixes NCAA Players Antitrust Claims -- Case Not Over...Yet

Do some people just love to debate? Love to be different? What's the deal?

For the ones siding with the Sam Keller's of the world, are you going to be satisfied with no college football game, or a game that is comprised of completely random players?

Just wondering what the line of thinking is here.

I don't think people would mind a completely random game too much as long as it could be edited.

[PaperBoyx703]

Re: Judge Nixes NCAA Players Antitrust Claims -- Case Not Over...Yet

Im a little curious, if a game title has an exclusive license over the NCAAF wouldnt it mean they have rights over everything under it like colleges under them its teams and under the teams the players?

Im a little lost if likeness was a big issue, how could there be cover athletes, despite not seeing the names we all know who they are and we see their face?

But with this signing over likeness thing, wouldnt it be possible to get those records of the past athletes(including Sam Keller)that are siding with Keller and see if they obliged by signing or if not?

In case you havent noticed by these q's i may either be lost or showing I dont have a side in the matter really.

[kevj349]

Re: Judge Nixes NCAA Players Antitrust Claims -- Case Not Over...Yet

You really don't think that the player has the likeness of the real life person? You have to be blind not to think it represents them. When I was playing NCAA after an OSU game my girlfriend walked in, who mind you knows nothing about football, and mentioned how she didn't like Pryor and Boom, who I was playing with. The fact is you don't recognize a player by his stats and face. When they are playing on Saturday do you see their faces? No you see the number, position, and team. Not arguing either way, but really? You don't see the likeness?

[Kaiser Wilhelm]

Re: Judge Nixes NCAA Players Antitrust Claims -- Case Not Over...Yet

Quick qestion to everyone debating here...If you were given the opportunity to play a collegiate sport you love and get a full ride to go to that school, would you turn it down?

Quite frankly if I had a college asking me to play baseball for them and in return they would pay for my college education, you can bet your backside I would jump on it.

I have a feeling the people sueing (not positive) are the kids that were not good enough to cut it in the pros, and had all their eggs in that one basket. I would like to know what this Nebraska QB's college degree is in as well as his major.

Edit: I am also willing to bet a good chunk of these kids would not get into the colleges they do soley based on their academics and citizenship. Not trying to steriotype college athletes but I get the feeling some of them are not the brightest people in the box.

Also lets look at basketball players. Craig Forth went to my high school and is now an elementary school teacher in my district. Now I'm not saying he was an amazing money making athlete, but he was part of the Syracuse Nat. Title team, and he managed to get an education.

Side not, can you imagine a 7 foot tall teacher as a first grader? DANG!

[12]

Re: Judge Nixes NCAA Players Antitrust Claims -- Case Not Over...Yet

I'd want to see the details outlined in a scholarship that these kids sign.

If they sign and the details talk about likeness, and how the university can used said likeness, then this debate is over. Done. Dead.

If you read the contract, you saw that. You still signed your name. Don't expect to be paid. It's about being responsible and knowing what you're signing and what you're agreeing to.

These kids have no case if that's the reality.

If it's not in the scholarship contact/letter of intent, then I can see the problem.