U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson on Friday dismissed claims against the NFL brought by three former players – Fred Dryer, Elvin Bethea and Edward White – who alleged NFL Films improperly used their images. Two years ago, a large class action suit brought by Dryer on this issue was settled, but Dryer and thousands of other players opted out of the deal. Magnuson's previous order approving the settlement remains under appeal. There are hundreds of other individuals cases pending in Minnesota court, residue of the opt-outs from the settlement and a court order that each player's complaint had to be filed individually.
Magnuson wrote that the NFL has a first amendment defense to using the players' images: “The NFL is capitalizing not on the likenesses of individual players but on the drama of the game itself, something that the NFL is certainly entitled to do. ... While the NFL certainly reaps monetary benefits from the sale and broadcast of these productions, the use of any individual player’s likeness – the productions’ display of footage of plays involving an individual player – is not for commercial advantage but because the game cannot be described visually any other way.”
