Categories: News

EA Sports And Ed O’Bannon Reach $60M Settlement In College Athletes Lawsuit

Sports video game giant EA Sports settled a lawsuit with 24,819 college athletes who were collectively awarded $60 million on Tuesday. Each individual athlete will receive about $1,600 under the settlement, after lawyers take their 30 percent cut, according to ESPN.com.

EA Sports And Ed O’Bannon Reach $60M Settlement

Thanks to the settlement, college athletes who appeared in EA Sports video games in 2013 and 2014 will now be financially compensated. The awards will be issued on a weighted scale, which means that if a player appeared in an earlier version of the game, they will receive less money than a player who appeared later in the franchise. The reason for this is that there was more specificity in the likenesses of players during the later versions of the games.

The lawsuit was led by former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon, former Rutgers quarterback Ryan Hart and former Nebraska and Arizona State quarterback Sam Keller, each of whom will receive an estimated $15,000. Twenty-one other players, including former Alabama wide receiver Tyrone Prothro, will receive $5,00 for being class action representatives, according to an ESPN report.

O’Bannon was the one who brought the original suit against EA Sports claiming that collegiate athletes should get paid for use of their names, images and likenesses. The lawsuit also forced EA Sports to discontinue its NCAA video game franchises, the last one being “NCAA Football ’14,” which went on sale in July 2013.

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!

A week of sports news in your in-box.
We find the sports news you need to know, so you don't have to.

26 Mar 1995: UCLA FORWARD ED O”BANNON CELEBRATES BY CUTTING HIS PART OF THE NET AFTER THE BRUINS 102-96 WIN OVER UCONN IN THE NCAA WEST REGIONAL FINAL AT THE OAKLAND COLISEUM IN OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

Pablo Mena

Writer and assistant editor for usports.org. NY Giants and Rangers fan. Film and TV enthusiast (especially Harry Potter and The Office) and lover of foreign languages and cultures.

Recent Posts

Diontae Johnson Excited To Move From Panthers To Ravens, Could Help In Playoff Push

Wide receiver Diontae Johnson is reportedly settling in well with the Baltimore Ravens after the…

14 hours ago

What Happened To Aaron Judge? After Yankees Fall Short In World Series, Fans Are Asking Questions

Aaron Judge seemed to flip the script on his disastrous World Series and postseason with…

14 hours ago

As The Yankees Collapse In World Series, Free Agency Battle For Juan Soto Begins

The New York Yankees' 2024 season came to a screeching halt Wednesday night when the…

2 days ago

Dodgers Win World Series In Game 5, Yankees Blow Five-Run Lead In Disastrous Finale

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 7-6 in Game 5 to win…

2 days ago

Brad Pitt Makes Surprise Appearance At Mexican Grand Prix To Shoot His Movie, ‘F1’

https://youtu.be/Y69VZZt9rt4 Brad Pitt made a surprise appearance at the Mexican Grand Prix’s practice round on Oct. 26.…

3 days ago

76er’s Joel Embiid Stays In NBA News Even While Not Playing

Joel Embiid’s name came up twice in NBA news this week as he continues to…

3 days ago