New NCAA Football Video Game Still Unlikely Following Latest Ruling
By Jerry Trotta
Folks sequestered in their homes amid the coronavirus pandemic have likely spent extensive hours breaking out old video games. Among the laundry list of fan favorites is NCAA Football, which has endured a six-year hiatus since its circulation was halted following the 2014 edition...when former Michigan dual-threat QB Denard Robinson graced the cover.
The discontinuation of the adored game will unfortunately continue despite the NCAA Board's ruling on Wednesday, which essentially stated that it will permit student-athletes to be compensated from third-party endorsements starting in 2021.
The NCAA board announced it supports a rule change that would allow student-athletes to receive compensation for third-party endorsements both related to and separate from athletics, starting in 2021. It also supports compensation for other opportunities, including social media.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 29, 2020
For NCAA Football diehards, the problem lies in the fact that group licensing, at least for right now, isn't a part of the plan. With no union to oversee the distribution of funds, rebooting the video game franchise just isn't in the realm of possibility.
After all, the popular franchise paid out $60 million (!) in settlements to athletes who featured in the game between 2013 and 2014.
Val Ackerman says that group licensing (video games, replica jerseys) is "unworkable in college sports" largely because it does not have a union/bargaining unit.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) April 29, 2020
This news will certainly be a bitter spill to swallow for many, but at least they can take solace in the fact that the NCAA has taken a major step in allowing student-athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness.
NCAA Football lovers will just have to continue to hold out hope that the game will one day return.