The NCAA cleared the way for college athletes to begin profiting from their name, image and likeness in a shocking decision made Tuesday that could dramatically alter the economics of college sports going forward.
The move came a month after California passed a law requiring schools in the state to allow college athletes to earn endorsement money.
That means the NCAA Football game came one step closer to a comeback, and it appears EA Sports is also ready to jump both feet in at reviving the beloved video game series.
“Our position is we would love to build a game. If there’s a world where the folks who govern these things are able to solve for how to pay players for the use of their name and likeness and stats and data, we would jump at the opportunity to build a game in a heartbeat,” Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson told Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal last week.
“As a national governing body, the NCAA is uniquely positioned to modify its rules to ensure fairness and a level playing field for student-athletes,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a statement. “The board’s action today creates a path to enhance opportunities for student-athletes while ensuring they compete against students and not professionals.”
The NCAA Football video game ceased production in 2013 after a class-action lawsuit that was filed by Ed O’Bannon who took issue with the popular game using his likeness.
