NCAA will no longer license video games with EA
08-15-13, 11:41 AM
#26
DVD Talk Hero
Re: NCAA will no longer license video games with EA
The NCAA was shamed into taking down all the jerseys in their store after Bilas tweeted how you could search for players by name and get their jersey number.
I have no idea how the NCAA basketball games were; did they have more exact licenses?
There is a community that is super dedicated to updating rosters and roster names, so maybe a generic game could still satisfy the itch, but man that's a ton of work to do it for every school.
08-21-13, 01:52 PM
#27
DVD Talk Legend
Re: NCAA will no longer license video games with EA
http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/po...h-schools-risk
Is EA Sports revenue worth schools' risk?
August, 21, 2013
By Kristi Dosh | ESPN.com
The future of EA Sports in the college football video game market is seemingly a work in progress. The NCAA, SEC, Big Ten and Pac-12 have all confirmed they will no longer participate in the EA Sports games. The contracts for each of those parties were up following this year’s game, with the exception of the SEC, which will appear in one more game under its current contract.
The Ed O'Bannon antitrust lawsuit, which pits former and current student-athletes against the NCAA, EA Sports and Collegiate Licensing Company, is thought to be a cause of the exodus from the game. Those former and current student-athletes are claiming player likenesses are being used in the game without compensation to the individuals. The NCAA defended its legal position when it announced it would no longer participate in EA Sports' game going forward but cited the costs of defending against lawsuits as a reason.
Individual schools, even within those conferences not participating, will each make their own decisions. It appears that some may decide the small amount of revenue they earn from the games isn’t worth the hassle. AL.com reported that Kentucky and Arkansas are on the fence in the SEC, and Washington’s athletic director told the Seattle Times he would advise university officials to end its license with EA Sports.
A source with direct knowledge of the situation says he would be “very surprised” if the College Football Playoff licensed its marks for the games, and access bowls such as the Chick-Fil-A Bowl and Orange Bowl say they have yet to make a decision.
Licensing directors I spoke to weren’t clear on the exact formula used to calculate revenue from video games like EA Sports “NCAA Football” and “NCAA Basketball” (the latter of which was discontinued in 2010), but they all agreed on several aspects. Royalties from the games are determined based on a number of factors, including a school’s ranking in the polls and appearances in either bowl games, for the football video game, or March Madness appearances for the basketball video game. The formula is on a rolling, multiyear basis, so schools were still receiving royalties from “NCAA Basketball” last year, despite the game having been discontinued.
Most of the schools we contacted generated a greater percentage of licensing revenue from EA Sports “NCAA Football” royalties than from jersey sales. Whereas jersey sales accounted for an average of 1.1 percent of all licensing royalties for Collegiate Licensing Company schools, Louisville said licensing revenue from EA Sports accounted for 5.3 percent of its licensing revenue last year. However, at Texas A&M the percentage (1.9 percent) was only slightly higher than jersey sales (1.53 percent).
A sample of revenue schools received from EA Sports licenses in 2012-2013:
Louisville: “NCAA Football”: $85,845; “NCAA Basketball”: $26,594
UCLA: “NCAA Football”: $57,230; “NCAA Basketball”: $26,593
Clemson: “NCAA Football”: $85,845; “NCAA Basketball”: 18,616
Wisconsin: “NCAA Football”: $143,076; “NCAA Basketball”: $26,593
Texas A&M: “NCAA Football”: $57,000; “NCAA Basketball”: $18,615.80
With the money divided out between so many schools, and other parties involved in the game, it doesn’t add up to much for each individual school. Louisville says the revenue it generates from EA Sports is a little larger than reported, but CLC keeps 15 percent of the revenue as commission. Industry analysts told Sports Illustrated the “NCAA Football” franchise likely accounts for just 5 percent, or $125 million, of EA Sports' total revenue per year.
For the latest edition of the game, “NCAA Football 14,” EA Sports split some of its revenue with former college football players. Those players were compensated differently depending on whether or not they were current NFL players. Those not currently playing in the NFL were compensated individually. However, current NFL players were included as part of the game through the NFL Players Association’s group licensing program, which is divided between all active, eligible players at the end of the year.
The plaintiffs in the O’Bannon case want one-third of the combined video game revenue to go to student-athletes. On the high end at Wisconsin that would have meant $56,556 last year. On the lower end at Texas A&M it would have been just over $25,000. How that money would be divided and distributed between student-athletes remains to be seen.
August, 21, 2013
By Kristi Dosh | ESPN.com
The future of EA Sports in the college football video game market is seemingly a work in progress. The NCAA, SEC, Big Ten and Pac-12 have all confirmed they will no longer participate in the EA Sports games. The contracts for each of those parties were up following this year’s game, with the exception of the SEC, which will appear in one more game under its current contract.
The Ed O'Bannon antitrust lawsuit, which pits former and current student-athletes against the NCAA, EA Sports and Collegiate Licensing Company, is thought to be a cause of the exodus from the game. Those former and current student-athletes are claiming player likenesses are being used in the game without compensation to the individuals. The NCAA defended its legal position when it announced it would no longer participate in EA Sports' game going forward but cited the costs of defending against lawsuits as a reason.
Individual schools, even within those conferences not participating, will each make their own decisions. It appears that some may decide the small amount of revenue they earn from the games isn’t worth the hassle. AL.com reported that Kentucky and Arkansas are on the fence in the SEC, and Washington’s athletic director told the Seattle Times he would advise university officials to end its license with EA Sports.
A source with direct knowledge of the situation says he would be “very surprised” if the College Football Playoff licensed its marks for the games, and access bowls such as the Chick-Fil-A Bowl and Orange Bowl say they have yet to make a decision.
Licensing directors I spoke to weren’t clear on the exact formula used to calculate revenue from video games like EA Sports “NCAA Football” and “NCAA Basketball” (the latter of which was discontinued in 2010), but they all agreed on several aspects. Royalties from the games are determined based on a number of factors, including a school’s ranking in the polls and appearances in either bowl games, for the football video game, or March Madness appearances for the basketball video game. The formula is on a rolling, multiyear basis, so schools were still receiving royalties from “NCAA Basketball” last year, despite the game having been discontinued.
Most of the schools we contacted generated a greater percentage of licensing revenue from EA Sports “NCAA Football” royalties than from jersey sales. Whereas jersey sales accounted for an average of 1.1 percent of all licensing royalties for Collegiate Licensing Company schools, Louisville said licensing revenue from EA Sports accounted for 5.3 percent of its licensing revenue last year. However, at Texas A&M the percentage (1.9 percent) was only slightly higher than jersey sales (1.53 percent).
A sample of revenue schools received from EA Sports licenses in 2012-2013:
Louisville: “NCAA Football”: $85,845; “NCAA Basketball”: $26,594
UCLA: “NCAA Football”: $57,230; “NCAA Basketball”: $26,593
Clemson: “NCAA Football”: $85,845; “NCAA Basketball”: 18,616
Wisconsin: “NCAA Football”: $143,076; “NCAA Basketball”: $26,593
Texas A&M: “NCAA Football”: $57,000; “NCAA Basketball”: $18,615.80
With the money divided out between so many schools, and other parties involved in the game, it doesn’t add up to much for each individual school. Louisville says the revenue it generates from EA Sports is a little larger than reported, but CLC keeps 15 percent of the revenue as commission. Industry analysts told Sports Illustrated the “NCAA Football” franchise likely accounts for just 5 percent, or $125 million, of EA Sports' total revenue per year.
For the latest edition of the game, “NCAA Football 14,” EA Sports split some of its revenue with former college football players. Those players were compensated differently depending on whether or not they were current NFL players. Those not currently playing in the NFL were compensated individually. However, current NFL players were included as part of the game through the NFL Players Association’s group licensing program, which is divided between all active, eligible players at the end of the year.
The plaintiffs in the O’Bannon case want one-third of the combined video game revenue to go to student-athletes. On the high end at Wisconsin that would have meant $56,556 last year. On the lower end at Texas A&M it would have been just over $25,000. How that money would be divided and distributed between student-athletes remains to be seen.
08-21-13, 04:31 PM
#28
DVD Talk Hero
Re: NCAA will no longer license video games with EA
I thought it was illegal for any entity to pay a student athlete to use their likeness in something. Otherwise Johnny Football or some other college star would have been on the cover.
08-21-13, 04:48 PM
#29
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: NCAA will no longer license video games with EA
I think that's the crux of the lawsuit. The students aren't getting money for their likeness, but the schools and EA are.
08-21-13, 04:57 PM
#30
DVD Talk Hero
Re: NCAA will no longer license video games with EA
Oh, I know, just saying that it will never happen. The NCAA may have to settle with past athletes, but they'll basically just never license a game again
08-21-13, 05:31 PM
#31
DVD Talk Legend
Re: NCAA will no longer license video games with EA
In the old days of sports games, it wasn't a problem because all of the players in the game looked the same. Eventually they were able to do a few different body types, like a fat player, a skinny player, etc. Now of course every player's height and weight can be accurately modeled, but I'm not sure if that makes it a likeness since they're still not using the same face. Where does the line between a likeness and not a likeness end?
Maybe this game has just reached a point where it's not possible to give it the expected graphical detail without the players looking too much like the real thing, without actually being the real thing. Would gamers be okay with every player having the same height and/or weight, with maybe just two skin tones (because it would look ridiculous if everybody was white or black)?
09-26-13, 03:30 PM
#33
DVD Talk God
Thread Starter
Re: NCAA will no longer license video games with EA
I'll pick up NCAA 14 when it's under $20 then since it's probably the last of the series for the foreseeable future.
01-23-16, 10:56 AM
#34
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: NCAA will no longer license video games with EA
Voice of NCAA Football game rips former player whose lawsuit ended the series.
A longtime voice of EA Sports' NCAA Football series has spoken up about its demise, saying he was "as devastated or more devastated than anybody in the country" when he got the news it was canceled in 2013, and laid the blame for it entirely on one person.
"Ed O'Bannon ruined that for all of us," Kirk Herbstreit (pictured) told SEC Country.
O'Bannon is the former college basketball standout whose lawsuit against the NCAA originated with EA Sports' March Madness series, which used O'Bannon and his 1995 UCLA Bruins as an all-time great team without his or anyone's permission. In that game, as in NCAA Football, players were rated, rendered with their real-life biographical details and then had their names removed.
Over a period of several years, enough courts ruled that this was effectively a player's likeness that EA Sports and the NCAA's top licensing arm chose to settle the claims against them, to the tune of $60 million. The settlement also ended EA Sports' college business. O'Bannon's lawsuit, joined by other former college athletes, continues against the NCAA on other grounds.
Herbstreit, 46, a former Ohio State quarterback, was the in-game analyst for NCAA Football going back to NCAA Football 2002 (which released in 2001). With play-by-play man Brad Nessler, who also joined the series that year, the two were the longest-tenured video game announcers at the time EA Sports pulled the plug on their game in 2013. Ironically, Herbstreit and Nessler never worked a game together in real life for ESPN until two weeks after NCAA Football's cancellation.
"I can't even tell you how many hours we put in on that game," Herbstreit told SEC Country. He contends that all the college players he ever met, when the subject of NCAA Football came up, were "just thrilled to be in the game," and that he never met one who demanded or expected payment for the appearance.
A college football video game is, at best, a dormant concept until the NCAA can resolve the lawsuits facing it and the question of appropriate athlete compensation. Even then, to restore the kind of fully licensed smorgasbord for which the NCAA Football series was known would take considerable buy-in from 128 universities and 10 conferences. Before the series was canceled, several schools and conferences had announced they would no longer appear in the game, a concession to the bad publicity they'd suffered throughout this long running controversy. The annual licensing payment for an individual school topped out around $75,000, money easily forsaken.
Court's ruling mentions the return of the NCAA Football series, but it is far from likely. Though members of the NCAA's five largest conferences have added — with permission — a "cost of attendance" cash stipend atop the other scholarship aid provided, use of likeness for commercial products remains a nonstarter for the athletics organization. Any athlete who endorses a product, whether compensated or otherwise, risks losing his or her eligibility and sanctions can be applied to their university's athletics program.
This is true of all sports, not just big moneymakers like football. In September, the NCAA insisted that EA Sports remove 13 women's soccer players from the rosters of three national teams in FIFA 16. EA Sports sharply criticized the NCAA's stance but complied, rather than threaten those athletes' eligibility at the American universities where they play. EA Sports said none of the players were individually compensated for their appearance.
Last week, a cryptic post on the long inactive Facebook page for the NCAA Football series raised hope that an announcement of the series' return was forthcoming. EA Sports tried to douse the matter by saying it was a reference to the College Football Playoff championship game being played that day.
http://www.polygon.com/2016/1/19/107...bannon?ref=yfp
A longtime voice of EA Sports' NCAA Football series has spoken up about its demise, saying he was "as devastated or more devastated than anybody in the country" when he got the news it was canceled in 2013, and laid the blame for it entirely on one person.
"Ed O'Bannon ruined that for all of us," Kirk Herbstreit (pictured) told SEC Country.
O'Bannon is the former college basketball standout whose lawsuit against the NCAA originated with EA Sports' March Madness series, which used O'Bannon and his 1995 UCLA Bruins as an all-time great team without his or anyone's permission. In that game, as in NCAA Football, players were rated, rendered with their real-life biographical details and then had their names removed.
Over a period of several years, enough courts ruled that this was effectively a player's likeness that EA Sports and the NCAA's top licensing arm chose to settle the claims against them, to the tune of $60 million. The settlement also ended EA Sports' college business. O'Bannon's lawsuit, joined by other former college athletes, continues against the NCAA on other grounds.
Herbstreit, 46, a former Ohio State quarterback, was the in-game analyst for NCAA Football going back to NCAA Football 2002 (which released in 2001). With play-by-play man Brad Nessler, who also joined the series that year, the two were the longest-tenured video game announcers at the time EA Sports pulled the plug on their game in 2013. Ironically, Herbstreit and Nessler never worked a game together in real life for ESPN until two weeks after NCAA Football's cancellation.
"I can't even tell you how many hours we put in on that game," Herbstreit told SEC Country. He contends that all the college players he ever met, when the subject of NCAA Football came up, were "just thrilled to be in the game," and that he never met one who demanded or expected payment for the appearance.
A college football video game is, at best, a dormant concept until the NCAA can resolve the lawsuits facing it and the question of appropriate athlete compensation. Even then, to restore the kind of fully licensed smorgasbord for which the NCAA Football series was known would take considerable buy-in from 128 universities and 10 conferences. Before the series was canceled, several schools and conferences had announced they would no longer appear in the game, a concession to the bad publicity they'd suffered throughout this long running controversy. The annual licensing payment for an individual school topped out around $75,000, money easily forsaken.
Court's ruling mentions the return of the NCAA Football series, but it is far from likely. Though members of the NCAA's five largest conferences have added — with permission — a "cost of attendance" cash stipend atop the other scholarship aid provided, use of likeness for commercial products remains a nonstarter for the athletics organization. Any athlete who endorses a product, whether compensated or otherwise, risks losing his or her eligibility and sanctions can be applied to their university's athletics program.
This is true of all sports, not just big moneymakers like football. In September, the NCAA insisted that EA Sports remove 13 women's soccer players from the rosters of three national teams in FIFA 16. EA Sports sharply criticized the NCAA's stance but complied, rather than threaten those athletes' eligibility at the American universities where they play. EA Sports said none of the players were individually compensated for their appearance.
Last week, a cryptic post on the long inactive Facebook page for the NCAA Football series raised hope that an announcement of the series' return was forthcoming. EA Sports tried to douse the matter by saying it was a reference to the College Football Playoff championship game being played that day.
http://www.polygon.com/2016/1/19/107...bannon?ref=yfp
01-23-16, 11:27 AM
#35
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Re: NCAA will no longer license video games with EA
Herbstreit is mad at O'Bannon for killing his cash cow. 
O'Bannon is the face of the suit, but it certainly seems possible that someone else could've been that person.
O'Bannon is the face of the suit, but it certainly seems possible that someone else could've been that person.
01-23-16, 11:31 AM
#36
DVD Talk God
Thread Starter
Re: NCAA will no longer license video games with EA
I understand Kirk's perspective too. There were people who enjoyed participating and didn't care about getting paid.
01-23-16, 11:37 AM
#37
DVD Talk Legend
Re: NCAA will no longer license video games with EA
I'm pissed because I love that game. Heck, still play the last one from time to time.
01-23-16, 11:44 AM
#38
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Re: NCAA will no longer license video games with EA
O'Bannon is a car salesman in Henderson, Nevada. Probably wanted to get paid for something because his NBA career didn't pan out and was out of the league at age 24. He only played 2 seasons and I'm guessing he didn't qualify for an NBA pension.
I understand Kirk's perspective too. There were people who enjoyed participating and didn't care about getting paid.
I understand Kirk's perspective too. There were people who enjoyed participating and didn't care about getting paid.
11-23-22, 06:56 AM
#39
DVD Talk Legend
Re: NCAA will no longer license video games with EA
I didn't want to start a new thread and I'm sure Sonny will when the time is right... but EA announced that their new NCAA College Football game is being pushed from 2023 to 2024. Major bummer.
11-23-22, 08:27 AM
#40
DVD Talk Hero
Re: NCAA will no longer license video games with EA
O'Bannon is a car salesman in Henderson, Nevada. Probably wanted to get paid for something because his NBA career didn't pan out and was out of the league at age 24. He only played 2 seasons and I'm guessing he didn't qualify for an NBA pension.
I understand Kirk's perspective too. There were people who enjoyed participating and didn't care about getting paid.
I understand Kirk's perspective too. There were people who enjoyed participating and didn't care about getting paid.
So I'm missing a piece here, even delayed how did they get the rights back? And with the current state there's no way they're licensing all the players.
11-23-22, 12:38 PM
#41
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11-23-22, 12:52 PM
#42
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Re: NCAA will no longer license video games with EA
I'd be happy if they just released NCAA 14 with updated rosters. I just want to recruit and build a program. I tried the Doug Flutie football game and it's horrible.
11-23-22, 01:25 PM
#43
DVD Talk God
Thread Starter
Re: NCAA will no longer license video games with EA
The funny thing is that Kirk isn't one of those people. He wants to get paid, unless I missed the part where he was doing the announcing for charity and he's mad that he can't give to that charity any more (I know this is a thread resurrection). I mean nobody played those games because of Kirk, they played those games to be Vince Young or Reggie Bush or whoever.
So I'm missing a piece here, even delayed how did they get the rights back? And with the current state there's no way they're licensing all the players.
So I'm missing a piece here, even delayed how did they get the rights back? And with the current state there's no way they're licensing all the players.
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chuckd21 (11-23-22)
