The news that EA Sports would not release an NCAA football video game for 2014 was not surprising – considering the ongoing Ed O’Bannon trial concerning image and likeness – but it was disappointing. And it wasn’t just college football fans that were despondent, college football players were as well.

CBS Sports’s Jon Solomon reported Monday that the game’s cancellation news had made its way into the locker rooms of collegiate football teams. The decision on the O’Bannon trial will be made in the coming weeks, but the video game lawsuit has already been settled – pending approval – and resulted in a cash payout and the ending of the NCAA video game franchise.

EA, Collegiate Licensing Company and the NCAA settled lawsuits over video games for a combined $60 million (with $20 million from the NCAA). If the settlements are approved by the court, about 100,000 current and former college football and men’s basketball players will be able to claim up to $5,000 per year for past appearances on the NCAA video games.”

Players interviewed by Solomon had differing stances on the game with the same end result: Something has to be done with it, preferably with game production resuming.

“I’m a little disappointed the game is gone. Every year all of the college guys would be excited to see our faces in the college game and pretend to be ourselves,” Boston College center Andy Gallik told CBS Sports.

During its testimony in the O’Bannon trial, EA Sports testified that it would revisit the production of the game if player’s image and likeness are included, but getting the NCAA to agree to anything quickly will be a severe hassle.

Remember, these players are just college students; kids that participate in highly lucrative amateurism, but kids that also just want their favorite video game. Creating yourself on FIFA 15 just isn’t the same.

[CBS Sports]

About Jonathan Biles

Jonathan Biles is a staff writer for Awful Announcing.

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