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Players’ checks are the mail from EA Sports lawsuit settlement
By Nick Cole
Published:
Former Georgia WR A.J. Green has a check in the mail.
According to a report from USA Today, it’s one of 24,900 that are set to be issued as a result of a $60 million settlement to a lawsuit filed back in 2009 regarding the use of college athlete’s likeness in video games, such as the popular EA Sports NCAA Football series.
The report says that roughly 15,000 of those checks, which range in amount from $100 to $9,300, were mailed out on Wednesday.
The payment is a result of the settlement reached on a lawsuit that was filed by former Arizona State and Nebraska QB Sam Keller, and players whose likeness appeared on the EA Sports game from 2003-2014 may be receiving checks, provided they filed the proper paperwork on “valid, timely claims.”
Players featured on Electronic Arts’ college basketball game were also eligible to receive payment.
Plaintiff lawyer Leonard Aragon described it as a momentous occasion:
“For the very first time in history student-athletes are getting paid something equal to market value for the use of their name, image and likeness,” said Aragon, whose firm headed a case. “I didn’t think it was going to take seven years, but I did think we were going to get there.”
The average amount to be received by individual athletes is $1,750.
Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.
