College football (and basketball) players who are due to receive a payment from the EA and NCAA video game lawsuit will receive up to $20,000, with payments capped at $5,000 per year. The NCAA and EA Sports reached a settlement valued at $20 million in the video game-related lawsuit that was previously separated from the ongoing Ed O’Bannon trial. Former Arizona State quarterback Sam Keller took the lead in filing the lawsuit.
So how will the settlement money be divided? As reported by USA Today, the value per player will be based on the number of players who make a claim, what sport that player played (or plays), whether or not that player was depicted in the game with an avatar, whether the player’s photograph appeared in the game, and the number of years the player was on a roster that appeared in the game. Due to the memory restraints, not every football player would be expected to appear in NCAA Football franchise as the game does not allow for full-sized rosters college programs are capable of having.
Simply appearing in the game any year would net a settlement check of $5,000 per season, but if a photograph appeared in the game that could add another $5,000 for each year a photo is used. So the settlement money could add up for college football’s biggest stars.
The NCAA has confirmed no players currently playing college football will be punished for receiving settlement checks. There is also an additional settlement with EA Sports and the Collegiate Licensing Company valued at $40 million.