In our August 5 post, Former NCAA Athletes Still “In The Game” As Court Finds No First Amendment Immunity For EA Sports, we discussed a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruling that allowed a suit against video game producer EA Sports, the NCAA, and Collegiate Licensing Company to proceed. The court held, 2-1, that the defendants could not assert a First Amendment defense to the state-based “right to publicity” claims.
The ruling, as well as the loss of backing by the NCAA and numerous college conferences, has now led EA Sports to not only drop its college football game from its product line, but also to settle the lawsuit. EA Sports, along with Collegiate Licensing Company, filed papers in the federal court in Oakland, California. The terms of the settlement remain confidential, but an ESPN report indicated that each athlete who is a member of the class of plaintiffs, including current NCAA players would receive “something substantive.”
According to the ESPN report, the NCAA was “not prepared to compromise on this case.”