The NCAA is putting together a group to examine if players should be compensated for their names, images and likenesses.
Right now, players can’t take a dime for any of the stuff listed above, and it’s a large part of the reason why the ultra-popular college football video games came to an end. Well, it looks like we’ve got a major shift in the status quo, and that’s great news for people everywhere.
Big East commissioner Val Ackerman, who will be one of the heads of the group, said the following when discussing the developments, according to ESPN:
This group will bring together diverse opinions from the membership — from presidents and commissioners to student-athletes — that will examine the NCAA’s position on name, image and likeness benefits and potentially propose rule modifications tethered to education. We believe the time is right for these discussions and look forward to a thorough assessment of the many complexities involved in this area.
My friends, I’ve got champagne on ice, and it might be time to start popping bottles. The college football video games going away was a national tragedy. (RELATED: Clemson Football
It was disgusting, embarrassing and will forever remain a black mark on the nation of the soul until it’s changed. The whole thing was destroyed because the NCAA really didn’t want to let athletes get a penny from the games, which resulted in them getting discontinued after the Ed O’Bannon lawsuit. O’Bannon, a former UCLA basketball star, brought a case against the NCAA for using players’ likeness without pay, and one.
The games came to a quick end. Don’t blame O’Bannon. Blame the NCAA for not working alongside the game developers.
Now, it sounds like the door is being opened to get some money flowing for likeness, and that sounds to me like the games could be back sooner than later.
If that’s the case, then it truly is a reason to celebrate. I can’t tell you how many hours I spent playing “NCAA Football” back in the day. We’d stumble our way back from the bars, and then fire up the PS3 to challenge each other for a couple more hours.
I can’t even tell you all how many national titles I claimed. Even to this day, I will still dust off the controller to fire up the option offense.
Maybe — just maybe — the games will be back sooner than later. One can only hope.
