The Return of EA NCAA Football and the Tricky Reality of NLI Laws

Ever since I was a young child, I’ve loved Electronic Art’s NCAA Football video game series. As a young sports fan, I would spend long nights in the summers playing the Dynasty mode with my favorite programs. Personally, EA’s NCAA Football made me truly fall in love with college sports, as the game almost perfectly replicated the pageantry of the sport.

But, with former UCLA men’s basketball player Ed O’Bannon winning a lawsuit over the illegal use of player likenesses in the college sport games, EA was forced to stop the development of all future NCAA Football titles in 2013 (ESPN.com). As a result, diehard fans of the series have been forced to play the last installment of the series, NCAA Football 14, for the past seven years to fill the void left by the series. Every year, dedicated fans of the game gathered on Reddit and OperationSports.com to collaborate on updated rosters to keep the game fresh. For a while, I truly thought EA would never return to the beloved series because the legal troubles that plagued the game.

Then, on February 2nd, EA announced the return of NCAA Football, this time called EA Sports College Football. To say I was over the moon that morning would be a vast understatement. EA Sports said the time was right to revive the previously dormant series, as they had a plan to move forward with around 100 teams already on board with perspective licenses (ESPN.com) While I was jumping for joy as a fan, I was also very analytical and introspective in another way, as a student of the sports communications industry. My time as a PR student and as an intern for Syracuse University Athletic Communications has given me new insights about what the return of the EA Sports College Football will mean for departments going forward.

The largest question to answer is whether or not a school is willing to license their logos and uniforms to EA. Since the initial announcement, two schools have announced that they will not be participating in the video games return, Notre Dame and Tulane university. Both schools released statements that they would decline to participate in the game until NLI laws are expanded to allow players to profit off their name, image, and likeness in the upcoming game (ND.com and 247Sports.com) For schools located in California, Florida, Nebraska, Michigan, and New Jersey this will not be an issue as their state governments have passed laws that allow student-athletes to profit off NLI. Many states took this action because of the large inaction by the NCAA on this crucial issue. In my perspective, while I would love for every school to be in the game, I respect the path that Tulane and Notre Dame took. While the opportunity to have your school in this game may be too good to pass up, I believe athletic departments have to keep students interests first and foremost. Until universal NLI laws are passed, any school that declines to participate in the game will have a valid reason. The level of trust between the athletic department and the athletes is an aspect of the industry that is undervalued. Athletes shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not their schools and athletic departments are yet again raking in millions off of their hard work and labor. Sacrificing the marketing and brand exposure that

Photo Credit: EA Sports

EA College Football will be painful for some programs, but in the long run the trust between athlete and AD is more valuable.

The grand return of EA College Football will be good for college sports, even with the roadblocks that uneven NLI laws present in the short term. College Football, and college athletics in general are a vital aspect of American culture. When the game releases in the near future, a new generation of kids and adults alike will be enthralled by the traditions, rivalries, and amazing storylines of college football that the game excellently portrays. This can only help schools and athletic departments, as more people will be excited to engage with the school’s social channels and accounts.

Just know this, when the game comes out, I will be the very first person in line to buy a copy.

Cover Photo Credit: EA Sports