Score one for the players.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association announced that it's ending a long, lucrative licensing deal with video-game giant EA Sports for its “NCAA College Football” franchise. The iconic game won't have the NCAA name or logo anymore.

Faced with mounting federal lawsuits by former players who allege that EA uses their images and likenesses without permission, the NCAA decided to give up its wildly successful relationship -- a clear nod to the likelihood that players’ complaints will hold up in court,.

And while NCAA attorneys never would admit that a little pee came out once they realized the lawsuits were picking up steam, the overreaching college-sports behemoth acknowledges that the suits are driving its decision to split with EA.

We are confident in our legal position regarding the use of our trademarks in video games. But given the current business climate and costs of litigation, we determined participating in this game is not in the best interests of the NCAA.

The NCAA has never licensed the use of current student-athlete names, images or likenesses to EA. The NCAA has no involvement in licenses between EA and former student-athletes. Member colleges and universities license their own trademarks and other intellectual property for the video game. They will have to independently decide whether to continue those business arrangements in the future.


This July 9 release with UM star Denard Robinson as the unpaid cover model is the last with an NCAA connection.

The decision will disappoint millions of video-game ballers who make the football series a hot seller every year. It also creates an instant collectible: the current installment with cover art of Denard Robinson in his maize-and-blue glory.

But for the growing number of ex-players angry that they don’t get a dime from licensing of their images as collegiate stars, the move represents a significant step forward – and one of the strongest signs that the NCAA is actually worried about being called on its exploitative practices.

“They know full well they were allowing (EA Sports) to circumvent their rules, so they can reap the entire revenue with the exclusion of the players,” said attorney Michael Hausfeld, who’s behind some of the litigation.

Perhaps most worrisome is a suit by former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon against the NCAA, EA and Collegiate Licensing Co. O’Bannon heads a group of former football and basketball players that charges the organizations with using their images without pay or permission. (EA dropped its NCAA-branded college hoops game a couple of years ago.)

While it’s tough to determine exactly how much the players’ likenesses are worth, consider that reports say the NFL players' union in 2008 earned $35 million in royalties from EA,  which also makes the wildly popular “Madden” NFL football series.

Little wonder then that former greats like O’Bannon and co-plaintiffs Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson feel they’re robbed every time EA turns a buck off its college sports titles. And little wonder that they refuse to back down.

Not only has the NCAA been unsuccessful in having the case tossed, but now those involved with the suit are waiting to find out whether a U.S. district judge will certify the litigation as a class action. If she does and the defendants lose, they could owe hundreds of millions to the young men they exploit for free. (Before any blubbering about how these kids’ scholarships should be compensation enough, remember that it’s the individual universities — not the billion-dollar “nonprofit” NCAA — that cover athletes’ tuition and board.)

In addition, say folks like the scribes at Yahoo! Sports, the suit could permanently alter not just licensing practices but the entire college-sports landscape:

A certified class of only former NCAA athletes would mean damages based on former agreements between the NCAA, its conferences and licensees like broadcasters and game-makers. The addition of current student-athletes means the addition of current money and current agreements. Agreements like the SEC’s new partnership with ESPN or the Pac-12's cross-network deal worth nearly 3 billion dollars over 12 years.

For now, though, the decision by the NCAA to cut bait on the video game series bearing its name is stunner enough. In addition to changing the finances of college sports, this backpedal also could initiate the end of college sports video games should EA refuse to shoulder the exorbitant costs of obtaining licensing rights from each Division I school.

Though I’m not the die-hard I used to be, I’m still an enthusiastic gamer and would hate to see the college titles vanish from consoles and other devices.

But if the NCAA and EA Sports want to play with other people’s images, it shouldn’t be too much to ask them to play fair.