College football and basketball players whose names and likenesses appeared in EA video games from '03-14 will "finally get their money" from a $60M settlement, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. Of the players who submitted claims to be paid, 24,819 "were determined to have a valid claim." That would "give the average player about $1,600 in the settlement," after lawyers take a 30% cut of the award. Players "will be paid based on what years' games they appeared in (earlier years are worth less) and how they were used." The lead plaintiffs -- former UCLA basketball player Ed O'Bannon, former Rutgers QB Ryan Hart and former Nebraska and Arizona State QB Sam Keller -- "will get the most money, estimated to be $15,000 each" (ESPN.com, 3/15).
TO THE HIGH COURT: CBSSPORTS.com's Jon Solomon reported attorneys for plaintiffs in the O'Bannon case yesterday "asked the Supreme Court to hear their antitrust case against the NCAA, a request that carries risks and rewards but no guarantee of even being heard." The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last year threw out U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken's decision "allowing college football and men's basketball players to be paid up to $5,000 per year in deferred money." However, the Ninth Circuit "upheld that the NCAA's rules restricting payments to players violate antitrust laws." Cost of attendance stipends currently are the "highest form of payment the NCAA must legally allow schools to offer players" (CBSSPORTS.com, 3/15).
