August 4, 2010
Ex Football Player Sue EA
Tony Davis has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of over 6,000 retired football professional players over the use of the players likenesses in Madden NFL 2009.
The plaintiffs argue that EA never compensated thousands of retired players whose likenesses were used to fill the rosters for the game’s historic teams. The suit alleges that EA “knowingly and intentionally” included the stats, positions, height and weights of retired players, but removed player names and uniform numbers to avoid paying anyone.
Normally, the player likeness and the rights attributed are owned by the NFL and one must obtain a license from the NFL for the use of such likenesses. It will be interesting if EA never acquired those licenses.
