The lengthy lawsuit versus Electronic Arts and the NCAA may finally be drawing towards a close as the July 2 deadline for student-athletes to file a claim has now passed. 16,200 of the potential 93,000 claimants actually did so.

Student-athletes who filed claims could earn anywhere from $74-$6,700. 'Participation awards' will see named plaintiffs (including O'Bannon, Keller, Hart) receiving a combined total of $200,000. Lawyers will be taking in no more than 33% of the total $60 million EA/NCAA settlement, which equates to approximately $19.8M.

The next hearing for this case is on July 16 and that is where Judge Wilken may grant approval of the settlement. She must also rule on fees and expenses being sought by the plaintiffs' lawyers, proposed additional payments to the named plaintiffs, and objections that have been raised by three potential claimants.

Still on the horizon is the Kessler vs. NCAA lawsuit and also worth watching is how the NCAA and/or conferences/schools establish policy on allowing player likeness to be utilized and compensated in the future. These are the remaining key items to seeing a possible return of the NCAA Football franchise.

UPDATE - On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken orally approved a combined $60 million settlement that ended claims against video game manufacturer Electronic Arts, Collegiate Licensing Company and the NCAA. More than 20,000 claims have been made and the deadline for players to seek money has been extended to July 31, according to Berman.

It's possible the dollar amount for players will increase. Carey said it's “very possible” that Wilken will reduce attorneys' fees from 33 percent of the settlement to 30 percent. If that happens, the pool of money would increase for athletes who make claims. Courtesy: CBS Sports ...

Just over six months following retail release, Madden NFL 15 is now available in The Vault for EA Access members. Also recently added to The Vault were NBA LIVE 15 (just over four months following release) and EA SPORTS UFC (six months following release).

While it is initially surprising to see such new titles available in The Vault, it makes sense for the Ultimate Team features in Madden NFL and NBA LIVE with both still adding new content. Some community speculation has centered around EA possibly testing the waters to see if those who are getting the game for free (so to speak) may invest in Ultimate Team and for UT to be a standalone product in the future. For LIVE, this may be an avenue to create more brand awareness and loyalty as the franchise works to become a player on the basketball stage. ...

A point of concern since the EA Access service was announced, the actual amount of pre-release gametime with Madden NFL 15 will be "six gameplay hours." This comes via the EA Access Twitter account in response to a question from an assumed customer of the service.

EA Access costs $4.99 a month (or $30 a year) and allows users to play older EA titles for free while also giving them five days of early access to new EA titles. While a limited playtime makes sense for games with a storyline (Dragon's Age, Battlefield, etc.), many sports gamers have expressed disgust at going from unlimited three day playing time with EA SPORTS Season Ticket to now six hours over five days. (Season Ticket returns to PS3/360 this year.)

EA Access is only available on Microsoft's Xbox One as Sony (PlayStation 4) allegedly declined carrying the program, citing it a poor value for consumers. With full details now available, do you agree with Sony's decision? Continue on to share your opinion and to see some initial reactions to this time limit via Twitter. ...

After seemingly being defunct with the launch of the current-gen consoles (PS4 & XB1) and EA Access (XB1 only), the EA SPORTS Season Ticket program is returning for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 users.

Featuring the same guidelines as the past, Season Ticket will provide users access to Madden NFL 15, NHL 15, and FIFA 15 three days early, 20% discount on additional DLC, and 24 weeks of Ultimate Team Packs. Season Ticket costs $19.99 annually.

On current-gen consoles, EA Access will provide Xbox One users access to EA SPORTS title five days early (any time limitations currently unknown), meaning that PlayStation 4 users are the only ones with no early access to Madden NFL 15 and other EA titles.

Continue on to see the full details on EA SPORTS Season Ticket. ...

One day following the NCAA Division I board of directors voting 16-2 to allow the schools in the top five conferences to write many of their own rules, the judge in the O'Bannon v. NCAA case ruled that the NCAA violates antitrust law and that trust funds should be established for student-athletes to share in licensing revenue.

Continue on to read more about the latest developments in this ongoing saga and how it may lead to the eventual return of EA SPORTS NCAA Football.

UPDATE - No surprise: The NCAA plans to appeal the ruling. ...

A new program was announced by Electronic Arts for the XBOX One system called EA Access. This will be a subscription based system that allows you to play EA's games in a whole new way. Part of the subscription will include what is called The Vault where you can play a certain selection of games unlimited anytime. Also, similiar to the EA Sports Season Ticket program, there will also be DLC discounts, but not just DLC, but full retail purchase discounts. Also similar to Season Ticket, the EA Access will allow you to play a new retail game five days early. For full details of this new program, please hit the jump to read the rest.

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CBS Sports' Jon Solomon recently interviewed numerous college football players from the ACC and SEC to gather their thoughts on the now defunct EA SPORTS NCAA Football franchise. Regardless of their thoughts on whether they should be paid for name and likeness use, Solomon found that many want the game to return someway, somehow.

Changes still need to be made, whether within the NCAA or within conferences, should they be given the autonomy to decide their own policy for name and likeness usage. ACC Commissioner John Swofford believes we will be under the current structure for three to five years as legal issues are ironed out, though the conference is currently working on their own name and likeness release form. NC State Athletic Director Debbie Yow believes the Power 5 conferences will address the issue if/when the NCAA grants them the ability next month to determine some of their own NCAA rules. ...

We have now reached the second Tuesday of July, the date typically reserved for the release of EA SPORTS NCAA Football. However, multiple lawsuits and the changing landscape of college sports mean the end of the franchise as we know it.

Anyone 21 years of age or younger has grown up with NCAA Football being an annual summer release. The franchise became a tradition for many and as they grew, so did the game. Fans played it against friends and family, it became a battle for bragging rights in college dorms, and the addition of Online Dynasty allowed gamers from across the country to compete against each other.

While plans were in place and the development underway for EA SPORTS College Football 15, its cancellation made it the last college sports franchise to fall, joining the ranks of NCAA Basketball/March Madness, College Hoops, and MVP NCAA Baseball. Between licensing costs and lawsuits over the alleged use of player likenesses, college gaming will likely not return for some time, if ever. ...

As the O'Bannon lawsuit versus the NCAA continues, the NCAA has reached a $20M settlement with the plaintiffs in the Sam Keller lawsuit. The Keller case was to be heard in March 2015 and the settlement will distribute $20 million to “certain Division I men’s basketball and Division I Bowl Subdivision football student-athletes who attended certain institutions during the years the games were sold.”

“With the games no longer in production and the plaintiffs settling their claims with EA and the Collegiate Licensing Company, the NCAA viewed a settlement now as an appropriate opportunity to provide complete closure to the video game plaintiffs,” said NCAA Chief Legal Officer Donald Remy.

Electronic Arts and the Collegiate Licensing Company finalized a $40M settlement with a series of plaintiffs in late May.

The O'Bannon lawsuit does not feature the plantiffs looking for monetary damages, but rather changes to the current collegiate model. Continue on for more on this lawsuit as well as comments from Peter Moore on what it would take for the NCAA Football franchise to return. ...