AFSCME 3357-HOF'S BLOG

What's in a Player's Name: EA Sports' NCAA FOOTBALL 2005
Videogame giant Electronic Arts is doing a heavy marketing blitz for its title NCAA Football 2005. I'm troubled by the inclusion of amateur atheletes in such a commercial title without compensation to the athelete. EA leaves the players' names off the jerseys in NCAA Football 2005, but there are sites on the web where a player can get rosters incorporated into the game. See the link below. I wonder how long it will be before these sites get sued for the right of publicity / tortious misappropriation?


The NFL Players' Association has negotiated a deal with the videogame makers for compensation in exchange for the right to use the players' names and likenesses. Because the retired players do not have such a deal, EA had to leave their names and even numbers off of the jerseys for the historical teams.


NCAA Football 2005 Rosters and March Madness 2005 Rosters