EA settles for "tens of millions" in NCAA lawsuit
A huge win for NCAA athletes was reached last week as Electronic Arts announced it has settled with lawyers over the use of athletes' names and likenesses in past NCAA sports games. While an exact amount hasn't been revealed, the rumored "tens of millions" of dollars will be shared amongst current and former NCAA athletes featured in EA Sports' NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball games. However, while EA settled, the NCAA is still preparing to fight the lawsuit as they are the lone defendant in the case.
The debate over the commercialization of college sports will continue for a long time, but this settlement is one victory that could represent a change in entertainment practices of large groups profiting off of the athletes' talents. In related news, EA also announced that they will not be releasing NCAA Football '14 this year per the settlement. It's unknown if the popular video game franchise (alongside its basketball counterpart) will continue, but the company is "evaluating our plan for the future of the franchise."
[via USA Today]