Settlements of a series of lawsuits “relating to the use of college football and men's college basketball players' names, images and likenesses in NCAA-branded video games are likely to result in many of the affected athletes getting at least $1,000 and could result in some receiving $6,700 or more,” according to legal filings cited by Steve Berkowitz of USA TODAY. The documents were submitted Thursday to U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken “as part of the process to gain her final approval of a combined” $60M in settlements of claims against the NCAA, EA and CLC. Wilken approved the settlements “on a preliminary basis last July” and the ruling “applied to athletes who were on the roster of a team included in a game that was published or distributed" from May '03 through September '14. Athletes still playing college sports are allowed to "receive money from the settlements without affecting their NCAA eligibility.” Athletes had until Thursday to submit a claim, and the final payments will be determined “by a variety of factors, including the number of athletes who made claims that are determined to be valid.” Thursday night's filings stated that “nearly 16,200 athletes had completed forms, which are still being reviewed by a claims-administration firm.” That means about 16% of the athletes eligible for the $40M settlement involving EA and CLC have filed claims and about 24% of the athletes eligible for the $20M settlement involving the NCAA have done so. Notices were mailed to “nearly 93,000 potential claimants.” Athletes are eligible to receive money from either or both settlements (USATODAY.com, 7/3).
