The Return of NCAA Football 24
IMAGE CREDIT: EA SPORTS
By: Tyler Quach
It has been over a decade since EA originally released their last NCAA Football game, with NCAA Football 14 releasing July 19, 2013. But now EA Sports has officially announced that the NCAA will be returning July 12th, 2024. The return of this storied game for many sports enthusiasts is a breath of fresh air, it gives another title from one of the major publishers of sports games.
History
For many that are not familiar with the franchise might not know the reason why EA had to shut down its entire collegiate franchise. This was because of a major class action lawsuit placed on Electronic Arts (EA), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC). Also, for the very controversial rule that the NCAA had at the time as well, regarding compensation of their players.
The lawsuit that was placed on EA, NCAA and CLC was years in the making until 2015. It all started with Ed O’ Bannon who felt like EA didn’t compensate him fairly for his image and likeness in the NCAA basketball games. This lawsuit would eventually lead to many former/current collegiate athletes at the time to join the lawsuit against the NCAA games that had violated their rights by using player likeness in the games without fair compensation. EA would eventually settle in court in 2015, for $60 million and EA wouldn’t release any more games until now.
IMAGE CREDIT: GAGE SKIDMORE
Another issue at the time was with the NCAA itself and their controversial rule. At the time collegiate players were not allowed to be paid or given any gifts in any shape or form. This is a rule that would hurt many players and schools who may have broken it. People like Reggie Bush or Chris Webber would be affected by this outdated rule.So even if EA had wanted to pay the collegiate players for their likeness, the NCAA at the time wouldn’t have allowed it.
What Changed?
Over the years leading up to now, many things have changed, especially with the NCAA. The NCAA in the current has gotten rid of the rule that players cannot be compensated/given gifts. This was due to many high school athletes looking for other alternatives to the NCAA, such as playing in foreign countries or just sitting out until they were eligible to go pro. Many thought the other options were better because at least they would’ve got paid. This led to the NCAA changing the rule to what it is now. NIL has become a major part in collegiate sports now, many popular players such as Caleb Williams (USC, Football) or Bronny James (USC, Basketball) can play their respective sport and still get paid for it.
Conclusion
With the new rule within the NCAA it allows EA to finally pay for players likeness to be put in their games. This will lead to potentially even more announcements of NCAA games in the near future. But with NCAA Football 24 officially having a release date, many fans of the franchise are excited for what to come.