Yeah, it's a bit harsh for sure... But what I think he was saying is that people that don't care about the history of the game, don't really respect football, as such the assumption, I think, is that the lack of respect for the sport breeds a lack of respect for the sport in electronic form as well, i.e. glitchers, exploiters, etc... It was badly put, but that's what I THINK he was getting at...
Anyhow, I think it's sick that they pay the older guys their cash, though with the likeness only being that of "abilities", it's a weak argument and as such probably won't stand up when the judge hears it... That being said, it's not like EA doesn't have the money, or hasn't made enough money on Madden thus far that they can't go out and get the rights for the historical teams... They don't need to get EVERY team, I'd be happy with only having the past Super Bowl teams... And even then, there are a lot of great players that played on several teams, or those that are still playing, so the total number for the players needing to get paid is probably smaller then people think and as such, why not just pay the guys and give us names, numbers, faces, and anything else that they might want to give us... Were it not for these great players, the NFL wouldn't even exist these days... So as such, respect should be paid...