EA Sports Will Not Publish College Football Game Next Year, Future Plans in Doubt

[roadman]

Re: EA Sports Will Not Publish College Football Game Next Year, Future Plans in Doubt

I never want to see honest people laid off however what EA was doing was wrong and I stand on the side of righteousness. Exploitation is wrong sad the people who aren't jerking the "SAs" around are the ones who suffer the most. Which unfortunately is usually the case.

However nobody should act like we weren't fully aware what was taking place. Like you didn't know who #5 6' RB from CA @ USC was or #16 6'5 QB from LA @ Tennessee.

Eh, you shouldn't generalize so much with the usage of "honest people" like we know what you mean, too. There is other people that lost their jobs besides developers and higher ups.

For example, receptionists, research people, etc.... with families to pay for.

Cusefan nailed it, it's a game for us, it was some peoples livelihood for them.

[DJ]

Re: EA Sports Will Not Publish College Football Game Next Year, Future Plans in Doubt

I feel bad for Christian, former OS writer, who moved his family down to Orlando so he could work on NCAA. I hope he lands on his feet.

[roadman]

Re: EA Sports Will Not Publish College Football Game Next Year, Future Plans in Doubt

I feel bad for Christian, former OS writer, who moved his family down to Orlando so he could work on NCAA. I hope he lands on his feet.

I forgot about that, I wish him well and hope he lands on his feet too.

[da ThRONe]

Re: EA Sports Will Not Publish College Football Game Next Year, Future Plans in Doubt

Eh, you shouldn't generalize so much with the usage of "honest people" like we know what you mean, too. There is other people that lost their jobs besides developers and higher ups.

For example, receptionists, research people, etc.... with families to pay for.

Cusefan nailed it, it's a game for us, it was some peoples livelihood for them.

Wouldn't all the employees you listed fall under the umbrella of "honest people". I said it to be all encompassing. I can't go through and point out every employee and their personal involvement.

[Forestman]

Re: EA Sports Will Not Publish College Football Game Next Year, Future Plans in Doubt

People cheering this announcement make me sick. Some people actually got some enjoyment out of this game, some people do not get hung up on the flaws and can actually enjoy it for what it is. Good people with families will be looking for work soon, it's just a game to us but it's a paycheck to them.

I have great memories with this series and I will miss it.

I agree with you 100%.

I'm really not happy about this news.

The same thing won't happen to Madden.... right?

[RedSoxFox7]

Re: EA Sports Will Not Publish College Football Game Next Year, Future Plans in Doubt

One last thing I want to say on the subject -- and this is coming from someone who has argued over and over again that athletes should receive some kind of compensation...

If O'Bannon thought it was so wrong that he wasn't being paid to play, than he should have never freaking played in the first place. He knows what he signed up for. And while I respect anyone who disagrees with the rule (hell, I disagree with the rule), rules are there until they aren't. And in this case, the rule is that student athletes can't be compensated for their likeness. Because this selfish jerk wanted a few extra dollars in his pocket after the fact, thousands of gamers lose out, and that sucks.

Unless the NCAA starts paying players or allows them to make money off of their likeness, we will never see a college sports game again.

If you want to point the finger at some "selfish jerk," look no further than the NCAA. They've been abusing intellectual property law for ages.

The problem here is that the kids don't sign their likeness away to the NCAA when they sign up to play, despite the way the NCAA has treated things for decades (not just with video games, with jerseys and other merch too) and that's what they were suing for. Their likeness being sold without authorization isn't something they signed up for.

They didn't sue for labor violation. They didn't (technically) sue because they weren't paid to play.

They sued for intellectual property violations. They sued because the NCAA, CLC, and EA used their intellectual property without authorization.

Just because a player would be ruled ineligible if he accepted money for licensing his likeness does not mean the NCAA, CLC, or EA had a right to use that likeness without licensing it. The player's likeness is still his property and his alone.

Now, what actually defines a player's "likeness" is what had me really interested had this ever made it to trial. I was curious to see where the line was drawn; would it be as simple as a jersey number? race? attributes? Is there any combination that would've been allowable without crossing the line into IP violations, or would rosters need to be completely randomized?

Of course, none of that matters now. We'll probably never see the details of the settlement, and we'll probably never see another college sports game until the NCAA changes their rules defining amateur status.

[kingsofthevalley]

I think the game will return in 2016.

[nc0ffey]

Re: EA Sports Will Not Publish College Football Game Next Year, Future Plans in Doubt

Could the NCAA not put some text into the paperwork these athletes sign when enrolling to allow for them to use their name/likeness for marketing purposes?

So basically anyone wanting to pay college sports would either agree to allow it, or not play.

I understand both sides of the agreement, but I think scholarships and a stipend for meals is a lot. I understand the school is making a lot of money off of some of these kids, but you have to think...for every Johnny Football there are several hundred Joe and Jane Athletes at just that school, then think about that across ALL college athletics.

I don't see anyway they can pay any one sport athlete more/less than another sport (a football player would be paid the same as a volleyball player) without further backlash. I also don't see how one school could offer more to their players than another (players at UL Lafayette would make the same as those from LSU).

So if you want to pay all athletes based on the amount of money all colleges take in, then fine...but would it really be enough to help these kids out? I know "every little bit helps" but think about the amount of money divided amongst the number of athletes.

Also, then should student council or other clubs/affiliations get compensated too? I feel like there would be Pandoras box full of individuals trying to get compensation...and I think many would have just a good of a case as most of the athletes who would be getting paid.

[Sanchez_Mareno]

Re: EA Sports Will Not Publish College Football Game Next Year, Future Plans in Doubt

By agreeing to the scholarship you sign away your likeness rights, not a bad idea ^^^

[blkrptnt819]

Re: EA Sports Will Not Publish College Football Game Next Year, Future Plans in Doubt

By agreeing to the scholarship you sign away your likeness rights, not a bad idea ^^^

That's a terrible idea and I hope a group of attorneys never let this happen. I'm starting to change my tune. Don't pay the players, just allow them to accept money from 3rd parties. Then everybody is happy.

[RedSoxFox7]

Re: EA Sports Will Not Publish College Football Game Next Year, Future Plans in Doubt

Could the NCAA not put some text into the paperwork these athletes sign when enrolling to allow for them to use their name/likeness for marketing purposes?

So basically anyone wanting to pay college sports would either agree to allow it, or not play.

Oh joy, now we're suggesting the NCAA be even MORE exploitative.

I understand both sides of the agreement, but I think scholarships and a stipend for meals is a lot. I understand the school is making a lot of money off of some of these kids, but you have to think...for every Johnny Football there are several hundred Joe and Jane Athletes at just that school, then think about that across ALL college athletics.

Scholarships and housing/meal plans are a joke.

For starters, the scholarships don't actually cost the schools anything. You're talking about 90 additional students among tens of thousands. The schools aren't hiring extra professors or building extra lecture halls for a fraction of a percent of their student body. Simply having these kids enrolled makes zero difference to their bottom line as far as the scholarship is concerned. It doesn't matter if it's BC at $60K/yr or UF at $20K/yr for a normal student, giving a scholarship to 90 football players isn't really costing the school any money.

Room & board at somewhere around $10K-$15K/yr has some real costs involved, but it's also got a ton of markup involved. I'm not sure where you went to school, but I've never heard of a single school where it wasn't considerably cheaper to live off campus and buy real food from grocery stores.

So, real costs, maybe $7500/yr? That's really not a lot of money, especially when you consider the earning potential being denied by NCAA regs.

I don't see anyway they can pay any one sport athlete more/less than another sport (a football player would be paid the same as a volleyball player) without further backlash. I also don't see how one school could offer more to their players than another (players at UL Lafayette would make the same as those from LSU).

So if you want to pay all athletes based on the amount of money all colleges take in, then fine...but would it really be enough to help these kids out? I know "every little bit helps" but think about the amount of money divided amongst the number of athletes.

Also, then should student council or other clubs/affiliations get compensated too? I feel like there would be Pandoras box full of individuals trying to get compensation...and I think many would have just a good of a case as most of the athletes who would be getting paid.

It's simple, just don't have the schools shouldn't pay the athletes directly. Then nothing you just brought up is an issue.

All you have to do is allow the athletes to get paid. Instead of the NCAA prohibiting athletes from profiting off of their image (so the NCAA can quite literally rob them of it), you let the kids get endorsements, you let them license their likeness to EA or 2K or whoever the hell they want, you let them get paid for signing autographs without some asinine half game suspension. It's already happening behind the scenes pretty much everywhere, and it's put a black eye on a number of prestigious programs, the best thing they can do is just legitimize it.

[jwtucker710]

Thanks, Ed O' Bannon and his cohorts!

[roadman]

Re: EA Sports Will Not Publish College Football Game Next Year, Future Plans in Doubt

Wouldn't all the employees you listed fall under the umbrella of "honest people". I said it to be all encompassing. I can't go through and point out every employee and their personal involvement.

So, basically, because they work at the same company and building, from top to bottom, throw them all under the bus and drive over in reverse with people you don't know.

Sounds like a game plan, but something that I was never taught to do. Guilt by association.

I do agree with paying for their likeness and similar things to that, but outside of that, I don't agree with paying them any more.

[GoDevils95]

Re: EA Sports Will Not Publish College Football Game Next Year, Future Plans in Doubt

I say this as an ASU grad and fan...that I hated Sam Keller when he was our starting QB in '05...and I hate him even more now. This arrogant punk signed up for this lawsuit (with Ed O'Bannon) as a money grub. Like it really hurt them that a video game company made a game a used their "likeness"? I know that's not the point....but if Keller was good enough to make it in NFL, he'd have never gone this route. Same with O'Bannon in the NBA.

Keller was / is a coke head who wouldn't show up for ASU team workouts in the offseason....partied all night during the season....lost the respect of his ASU teammates....then got beat out by a Freshman (Rudy Carpenter) and threw a fit like a complete baby. His dad, had connections with Oak Raiders, got Bill Callahan to give him a shot at Neb. We all know how that turned out - karma got him, and he got injured half way through a mediocre season. The dope moved back to Scottsdale, AZ and was seen partying all over town. Then he caught wind of this lawsuit and added his name = which really got this going b/c two athletes from two different sports were on it. Just a money grab. That's all this was to them.

EA, by making a better game, was following the NCAA. What about TV networks using players likeness on TV commercials to sell their game to viewing public all week? Does ABC / ESPN / CBS / FOX pay these "student athletes"? Why just go after video game companies? Greed. The consumer was really hurt on this. College football will take a hit on this. At one time (late 90s)....college football players considered EA's game to a huge compliment to be in the game (remember when you could only edit rosters for up to 10 teams?).....now.....today's players are RIDICULOUS. They want something for not doing anything at all. EA deserves to make a profit on this....they did all the work....and the NCAA never told them they were wrong for doing what they were doing....with their athletes.

NCAA athletes will NEVER get paid. NEVER. Why? Because if they aren't considered "amateur"....then the Federal Gov't views the universities / colleges differently and then they will be taxed differently (much like corporations are). Universities will do away with their athletic programs before they ever pay the athletes. The athletes and their programs are small potatoes compared to a university's purpose. This threatens their very livelihood. They will not tolerate that. University's primary purpose is education and research. Athletic programs are simply in place to help bring exposure and build camaraderie and spirit on the campus. That's it.

Today's athletes are punks. They are more intent on destroying something instead of trying to build. This EA-NCAA-athletes lawsuit is just one little small example in our society. Feel free to drive off a cliff Sam Keller. You piece of trash.

[lord_mike]

Re: EA Sports Will Not Publish College Football Game Next Year, Future Plans in Doubt

NCAA athletes will NEVER get paid. NEVER. Why? Because if they aren't considered "amateur"....then the Federal Gov't views the universities / colleges differently and then they will be taxed differently (much like corporations are). Universities will do away with their athletic programs before they ever pay the athletes. The athletes and their programs are small potatoes compared to a university's purpose. This threatens their very livelihood. They will not tolerate that. University's primary purpose is education and research. Athletic programs are simply in place to help bring exposure and build camaraderie and spirit on the campus. That's it.

Today's athletes are punks. They are more intent on destroying something instead of trying to build. This EA-NCAA-athletes lawsuit is just one little small example in our society. Feel free to drive off a cliff Sam Keller. You piece of trash.

Couldn't have said it better myself. And yes, for the reasons you mentioned, the university system is about as likely to pay players as the Catholic Church is likely to endorse abortion. The other day, the Big 10 Commissioner Tom Delaney pretty much said as much. If the Big 10 is willing to cut off their cash cow, so will all the others (except for maybe the SEC, since they care little about academics). They simply CAN'T pay players, and they won't. If they have to shut it all down, they will. They aren't bluffing.