For those wondering if the plaintiffs would make money out of these lawsuits (and ensuing settlements), the answer is in bold below.
Proposed video game settlement could help current NCAA players
As many as 100,000 college football and men's basketball players – including athletes with remaining eligibility -- would be able to receive money from a $40 million proposed settlement of claims related to the alleged use of their names and likenesses in NCAA-themed video games.
The proposed settlement, filed Friday in California with U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken, would conclude allegations made against video game manufacturer Electronic Arts and Collegiate Licensing Co., the nation's leading collegiate trademark licensing and marketing firm.
EA and CLC were co-defendants with the NCAA in one case filed on behalf of plaintiffs led by former Arizona State and Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller and another on behalf of plaintiffs led by former UCLA basketball player Ed O'Bannon. EA was a sole defendant in two other cases -- one on behalf of former Rutgers football player Ryan Hart and another on behalf of former West Virginia football player Shawne Alston.
A roster of named plaintiffs would receive incentive payments ranging from $15,000 apiece for Keller, O'Bannon and Hart, to $5,000 or $2,500 for others.
Beyond that, the money would be distributed based on a formula that takes into account the number of players who end up making valid claims; whether the players were on a football or men's basketball roster, or also were depicted in a game; and the number of years in which they were on a roster and/or appeared in the game. If an extremely large percentage of players eligible to make claims do so, the per-player payments could range from about $50 to several hundred dollars, Aragon said. If half of the players eligible make claims, the per-player payments could range from around $100 to around $2,000, Aragon said.
The document states that the proposed settlement would release all claims against EA and CLC, but it also suggests that there is evidence that strongly backs the plaintiffs' allegations that the avatars in the video games are modeled on the actual athletes. This is a pivotal claim in the Keller plaintiffs' ongoing case against the NCAA, which has been set for trial in March 2015. It also is a claim that the NCAA unequivocally contested in a recent pre-trial filing in the O'Bannon case, which still involves issues related to video games.
The NCAA "contends that the claims against the NCAA based on EA's NCAA-themed video games are not supported because those games do not utilize the name, image or likeness of college football and men's basketball players," the NCAA wrote in the pre-trial filing May 14. "Instead, EA's NCAA videogames utilize generic faces and images of football and basketball players that are not based on actual individuals."
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