Economics

NCAA Loses Ed O'Bannon Video Game Case, Judge and Public Agree Athletes Should Be Paid When Their Likenesses Are Used

Ruling is latest in string of lawsuits against the organization

|

Though it can still ding schools for feeding players too much pasta, the NCAA must now compensate student-athletes when their images or likenesses are used to sell merchandise. 

So says a federal court ruling issued Friday in the anti-trust lawsuit brought against the NCAA by former UCLA basketball player Ed O'Bannon. 

The Kansas City Star reports:

A federal judge ruled for student-athletes and against the NCAA on Friday, opening the door for some college players to share in licensing revenue after their careers are over. The ruling by U.S. District judge Claudia Wilken in the Ed O'Bannon lawsuit allows for trust funds to be established for major college football and men's basketball players, who can cash in, after their eligibility expires, on a portion of the proceeds generated by the use of their images and likenesses.

It appears that public opinion matches the judge's decision. In March, the Reason-Rupe poll asked 1,003 Americans: 

When a college or company sells a jersey with a college football or basketball player's number on it, or sells a video game with a player's likeness in it, do you think that player should receive some of the money from the sale of his likeness or jersey, or should that not be allowed?

Should be allowed………………………….. 64%

Should not be allowed…………………….. 32%

Don't Know……………………………………… 4%

Refused………………………………………….. 1%

USA Today's Nina Mandell notes how attitudes about the NCAA are changing, "Through the trial, Ed O'Bannon and his fellow plaintiffs became heroes who took on an organization that many felt had treated them unfairly. In a matter of only a few years, the narrative swung from athletes being thought of as spoiled jocks to a group of kids who were being unfairly taken advantage of."

The ruling is the latest decision in a string of lawsuits pending against the NCAA and threatens to weaken the institutional power of the collegiate athletic organization. 

In late July, the NCAA agreed to earmark $75 million toward concussion research as part of a settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed by former football players who felt that the association mismanaged head injuries.  

And in March, the Chicago regional office of the National Labor Relations Board ruled that football players at Northwestern University had the right to unionize. 

Nationwide telephone poll conducted March 26-30, 2014 interviewed 1,003 adults on both mobile (503) and landline (500) phones, with a margin of error +/- 3.6%. Princeton Survey Research Associates International executed the nationwide Reason-Rupe survey. Columns may not add up to 100% due to rounding. Sign up for notifications of new releases of the Reason-Rupe poll here.