The NCAA has ended its licensing deal with Electronic Arts.
In a press?release, the NCAA announced it will not enter into a new agreement with EA Sports for its NCAA video game franchise. The contract is set to expire in June of next year.
NCAA Football 14, released this month to less-than-stellar reviews, will be the last NCAA title that Electronic Arts will publish. The announcement was made, according to the NCAA, to ?provide EA notice for future planning.?
The decision comes after an anti-trust lawsuit filed by former players over the use of their names and likenesses in NCAA games. Both the NCAA and EA are co-defendants.
UCLA Ed O?Bannon is spearheading the lawsuit.
Sports Illustrated?s Michael McCann summarizes the suit, writing:
?First, by requiring student-athletes to forgo their identity rights in perpetuity, the NCAA has allegedly restrained trade in violation of the Sherman Act, a core source of federal antitrust law. Here?s why: student-athletes, but for their authorization of the NCAA to license their images and likenesses, would be able to negotiate their own licensing deals after leaving college. If they could do so, more licenses would be sold, which would theoretically produce a more competitive market for those licenses. A more competitive market normally means more choices and better prices for consumers. For example, if former student-athletes could negotiate their own licensing deals, multiple video game publishers could publish games featuring ex-players. More games could enhance technological innovation and lower prices for video game consumers.
?Second, according to the plaintiffs, the NCAA has deprived them of their ?right of publicity.? The right of publicity refers to the property interest of a person?s name or likeness, i.e. one?s image, voice or even signature. Last year, when explaining why the NCAA has refrained from suing CBS CBS over its use of player information in its fantasy sports game on?CBS Sportsline.com, NCAA officials acknowledged that players? rights of publicity belong to the players, and not to the NCAA.?
The NCAA said in their statement:
?The NCAA has made the decision not to enter a new contract for the license of its name and logo for the EA Sports NCAA Football video game. The current contract expires in June 2014, but our timing is based on the need to provide EA notice for future planning. As a result, the NCAA Football 2014 video game will be the last to include the NCAA?s name and logo. We are confident in our legal position regarding the use of our trademarks in video games. But given the current business climate and costs of litigation, we determined participating in this game is not in the best interests of the NCAA.
?The NCAA has never licensed the use of current student-athlete names, images or likenesses to EA. The NCAA has no involvement in licenses between EA and former student-athletes. Member colleges and universities license their own trademarks and other intellectual property for the video game. They will have to independently decide whether to continue those business arrangements in the future.?
EA shares have dipped on the news. The loss of a major franchise is bad news for the EA Sports division, though the company plans to release future college sports games without the NCAA brand.
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