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

# 21 ghettofocker @ 06/05/14 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joey Sauce


	2k does it every year with nba...get a clue EA

The NBA doesn't not have near as many players as the NFL though. Makes it easier and quicker

# 22 roadman @ 06/05/14 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JKSportsGamer1984


	Yeah I get the marketing aspect but that still doesn't negate the fact that it's going to look extremely awkward when playing the game & Kap is the only player in the game with tatts. They should just wait til Madden 16 to add them. By then they can at least get a lot more players added. I say they need to get at least 75% of the league done or don't add them at all.

It may or may not, if my team plays the Niners, then, yeah, it will have an impact, but personally, I don't have an issue one way or other with tattoos, but understand others want the authenticity.

I'm more in tune with the game play and that's another thread.

# 23 cowboy_kmoney @ 06/05/14 04:18 PM

Will they have them for created players or player koming out the draft. Fake tatts so we kan put them on players.

# 24 SageInfinite @ 06/05/14 04:19 PM

I want authenticity, but this tattoo thing seems like more than what it's worth. Probably the same thing EA is thinking. I mean you know how money hungry people are these days. Players and artists will start asking for more money and what not just to get tatts in the game. Who knows what this could do. The legal system already killed our college football, I'm not siding with Tiburon, but I understand this from EA's perspective. It's a good start.

# 25 moylan1234 @ 06/05/14 04:21 PM

I'm curious about the wording the quote says

Quote:


	For now, Kaepernick is the only player who will appear in Madden 15 with his authentic tattoos

does that mean other players will have tattoos that are just random and not the ones they actually have? will we be able to add generic looking tattoos to created and edited players?

Agreed that if I get this game and CK is only one sporting any type of ink it's going to look really awkward and take away from the realism for me. questionable decision by EA if it turns out this way

# 26 Daddy123 @ 06/05/14 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EaglesFan1825


	Because the NBA isn't the NFL. The NFL has different rules for these things. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What does NFL rules have to do with anything? NFL has already approved the tatts, EA is afraid of the tattoos artist suing them.. NBA and NFL have nothing to do with this.

# 27 CM Hooe @ 06/05/14 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daddy123


	What does NFL rules have to do with anything? NFL has already approved the tatts, EA is afraid of the tattoos artist suing them.. NBA and NFL have nothing to do with this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadman


	the NFLPA, the players union mandated this procedure from a recent lawsuit. Kap got the news, it was probably emailed to all the players if it's mandated. The players union surely stays in contact with the players. The article said EA is open to more players having the waivers signed off.

The NFLPA's rules have everything to do with this, in addition to EA's obvious interest in shielding itself from litigation.

# 28 StefJoeHalt @ 06/05/14 04:27 PM

Major issue with this too..as someone who has many tattoos..is "most people" don't just have tattoos from one artist..again blame on this falls on lawyers who will take any case to sue..EA and NFL have huge deep pockets

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

# 29 SmashMan @ 06/05/14 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JKSportsGamer1984


	We get that it's not all EA. The point is if they couldn't get a majority of the players artist permission, then they should just hold off on adding tattoos in the game until they do. That's all. How odd is it going to look if only a handful of players have tatts in the game? They should just wait until Madden 16 to add them.

Or the flip side: Why punish Kaepernick if it's taking other guys longer to get the rights to their tattoos (assuming their artists are willing to sign off)?

# 30 SHAKYR @ 06/05/14 04:35 PM

It's EA fault they knew this for a while. They could have did this early in development but by mentioning it now. They make it seem like they put ina genuine effort.

# 31 StefJoeHalt @ 06/05/14 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ovie832


	so does nba 2k get permission from every tattoo artist that has a tattoo in the game?? I just don't understand.. as NBA2k has mostly all real tattoos. Understand its a different league... but why wouldn't 2k be scared of getting sued then?

Good question..but my thought is with all the sues out against NFL..NFL just doesn't want to deal with more..also ur talking about NBA has what 12/15 guys a team to NFL's 53..

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

# 32 TDKing @ 06/05/14 04:37 PM

Gee, I hope no tatted players are used on any magazine covers then or they could get sued too !!! Lol .....

# 33 LorenzoDC @ 06/05/14 04:39 PM

EA Madden Marketing Best Practices Checklist:

Hype shiny object
Stay silent as core fans discover shiny object is much less than what it first appeared to be
PROFIT!

# 34 CM Hooe @ 06/05/14 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TDKing


	Gee, I hope no tatted players are used on any magazine covers then or they could get sued too !!! Lol .....

A photograph of a person who has a tattoo is not an artistic recreation of said tattoo; the tattoo being the artist's original work. In this way, a photograph is markedly different from a video game asset.

# 35 JKSportsGamer1984 @ 06/05/14 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmashMan


	Or the flip side: Why punish Kaepernick if it's taking other guys longer to get the rights to their tattoos (assuming their artists are willing to sign off)?

All I'm saying is that it's going to look awkward & stand out if only Kap or a few players have tatts & no other players do. It's going to make you pay more attention to all the other players that don't have tatts but should have them in the game. I still say just wait til they're able to get most of the players artists permission & then add them.

# 36 TDKing @ 06/05/14 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CM Hooe


	A photograph of a person who has a tattoo is not an artistic recreation of said tattoo; the tattoo being the artist's original work. In this way, a photograph is markedly different from a video game asset.

Ah.... I see, thanks!

# 37 apollon42 @ 06/05/14 04:46 PM

Richard Sherman's dreads should look like this

# 38 strawberryshortcake @ 06/05/14 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EaglesFan1825


	Because the NBA isn't the NFL. The NFL has different rules for these things. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That doesn't quite make sense. Coprighting has nothing to do specifically with the NFL. It's not up to the NFL to give permissiin to EA to replicate a tatoo in game if the rights from the tatoo artist never gave permission in the first place. The NFL say to EA get all player tatoos in the game, and the artist can still come after EA if permission was never granted by the artist.

# 39 dghustla @ 06/05/14 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CM Hooe


	The players, perhaps not, but given the state of tattoo copyright law at the moment if I were a tattoo artist I would most likely want compensation for my original work appearing in some other format. Getting the required waiver may not be particularly easy, given that.

I don't have any tattoos but if I was an athlete in the NFL and especially a famous one at that, if my tattoo artist didn't sign the waiver release then best believe he won't see my business or any of my ppls business. Matter of fact since this is apart of the NFL symposium for players to know in advance, I wouldn't get tatted by anyone who refused to sign the waiver up front before doing work. That's a bad PR move to tattoo artist because it stems beyond video games. They could legitimately f*** up endorsement dollars with that foolishness.

I do acknowledge that many players have tattoos long before they reach the NFL but you should have an idea of who did your work.

# 40 hanzsomehanz @ 06/05/14 04:52 PM

Some may agree the timing was impeccable but I disagree strongly: tattoos in video games is not a novelty nor is the fashioning of Kap's tats.

Promote the use of ink when you have a solid clientele base otherwise your market push is premature esp if this is not used as a selling point to the consumer.

To have only one player out of hundreds model his ink screams of a waste of resources. They should at least give generic ink to the others who have ink but have not signed waivers.

This is basically a graphic demo - is this a new market EA will cater to?

It will be interesting to see if an image of Kap w/ his tats is used on the sleeve of the product as a marketing steak for the guys who salivate over these graphical add-ons.

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