Menu Close

EA Settles With NCAA Players, May Have To Pay $40 Million

Ben-Dutka 4 Comments

It'll cost Electronic Arts a pretty penny, that's for sure.

Attorneys representing student athletes who claimed EA illegally used their likenesses in various EA Sports games over the past decade have won a victory, and EA might have to shell out as much as $40 million.

The settlement was reached back in September, but we're just getting the details now due to a motion to approve the settlement. Each individual who was illegally represented in an NCAA football, basketball or March Madness game will receive as much as $951 for each year they were featured in the franchise(s). With nearly 100,000 current and former players appearing in EA Sports games since 2003, this could add up to the aforementioned $40 million.

Said co-lead attorney and managing partner of Hagens Berman Steve W. Berman:

"We’re incredibly pleased with the results of this settlement and the opportunity to right a huge wrong enacted by the NCAA and EA against these players and their rights of publicity. We’ve fought against intense legal hurdles since filing this case in 2009 and to see this case come to fruition is a certain victory."

If the settlement is approved, this will be the first time an NCAA commercial partner will pay student athletes. That's officially, of course. Nobody actually believes high-profile student athletes never get any money…I mean, no one is that naive.

Read more →

Proposed $27 Million Settlement For EA Football Lawsuit

John-Shepard 9 Comments

It took four years but it's finally over. Well…almost.

Attorneys representing consumers of Electronic Arts football games have reached a proposed settlement, based on claims that EA "violated antitrust and consumer protection laws and overcharged consumers for the games."

The case was initially filed on Jun 5, 2008, as lawyers claimed that EA violated the aforementioned laws by establishing exclusive licensing agreements with the NFL, NCAA, and AFL. As most gamers know, those agreements gave the game giant the exclusive rights to produce football games with the teams, players, stadiums, and other assets of the professional leagues.

The proposed settlement would establish a $27 million fund for consumers who purchased a Madden NFL , NCAA Football , or AFL video game published by EA. If this deal is approved, those who picked up a sixth-generation title (PS2, Xbox, GC) may receive up to $6.79 per game, and those who purchased a seventh-generation title (PS3, 360, Wii) can get up to $1.95 per game. There's an added stipulation that EA will not sign an exclusive agreement with the AFL for five years, and will not renew its current agreement with the NCAA (which expires in 2014) for at least five years.

Said attorney Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman, the law firm that represents the consumer in this case:

"After more than four years of hard-fought litigation, we have reached a settlement that we strongly believe is fair to consumers. We look forward to moving this process forward and asking the court to approve this settlement, which we think is in the best interests of the class."

Read more →