Just over a week after the release of NCAA Football 14, the NCAA released a statement stating that they would not renew their contract with game publisher Electronic Arts, and their sports division, EA sports. The contract is due to expire in June 2014.
The announcement comes at a time when both the NCAA and EA are co-defendants in an anti-trust lawsuit concerning the use of college athletes’ names and likenesses. The case is pending before a federal district court. The game publisher is involved in two separate cases involving the same issues of athletes’ names and likenesses that are currently at the appellate level. The NCAA released a statement on July 17, stating that they are ending the contract because of “the current business climate and costs of litigation, we determined participating in this game is not in the best interests of the NCAA.” The organization said that they never licensed the use of college athletes names, images or likenesses to EA and that they have no involvement in licensing between former college athletes and EA.
With that being said, what does the future hold for NCAA sports games? EA Sports’ NCAA Basketball series ended in 2009 after a 14 year stint and now football will be done away with. If EA Sports puts out another college football game, using licenses from individual universities and not the NCAA, the game will be severely different and lacking. While, in theory, the games could feature Big Ten, SEC and other collegiate conferences and teams; the games may not feature bowl games and championship games, especially BCS bowl games. Another issue would be if some teams license their schools while others do not. Who would Michigan play in the most important collegiate football rivalry if Ohio State decides not to be involved? While NCAA Football 2014 is the current installment, and last, of the franchise, the future is not over for NCAA football, or basketball, video games. While 2014 may not feature a new game, another game developer, such as 2K Sports, could pick up licenses to start a new franchise with NCAA licenses. How do you feel about NCAA’s decision to end their relationship with EA and do you think it was the right move? Comment below.
