Electronic Arts will discontinue producing its popular college football-gaming franchise in 2014 — and potentially forever — amid legal troubles with former and current NCAA players who seek compensation for EA using their names and likenesses in NCAA Football games.
The company announced the news on its blog Thursday afternoon, saying it is attempting to settle lawsuits with the athletes. However, an hour or so after publishing the blog post, CBSSports reported that EA and Collegiate Licensing Co. "have settled a series of wide-ranging class-action lawsuits."
See also: The 13 Types of Fantasy Football Player
Despite the purported settlements, there is no word yet on whether EA will alter its plans to discontinue the NCAA Football franchise in 2014 and future years. "Just like companies that broadcast college games and those that provide equipment and apparel, we follow rules that are set by the NCAA — but those rules are being challenged by some student-athletes," Cam Weber, general manager of American football for EA Sports, wrote in the blog before the reported settlement news arrived.
"At EA Sports, college football has always been a labor of love, and it is unfortunate that these business and legal issues have impacted our ability to make next year’s game," Weber continued. "This franchise has been developed by a team that is deeply committed to the tradition and culture of this sport — that’s why fans have always loved it."
Weber added that EA plans to move employees working on NCAA Football into other departments at EA Sports.
The NCAA already opted to discontinue its relationship with EA earlier this year. The game was going to have its name changed to College Football '14, with individual schools and conferences opting to stay in or out of the game.
How do you feel about EA's decision? Share your thoughts in the comments.
BONUS: 25 of YouTube's Funniest Sports Fails
This runaway vehicle wreaked minor on-field havoc following a high school football championship in Texas last December. But a heroic bystander hopped aboard and put on the brakes.
No casualties occurred, and the clip immediately became Internet legend.
Watch out for the ricochet, goalie! This kid gets it in the right in the chops.
What happens when you put an inflatable dinosaur on rollerblades and ask it to skate down a flight of stairs? Amazingness, that's what.
In sports, to "flop" is to exaggerate the force of contact in hopes of drawing a favorable call from officials. But you've got to time it much, much better than this guy does.
Apparently, if you hug a member of the opposite team after scoring a goal in hockey, you will get punched in the face.
This kid is just in the wrong place at the wrong time...to the benefit of the rest of us.
College football mascots are supposed to represent their schools in a fun, positive light — which doesn't typically include picking fights. Here, the University of Oregon's duck slams the University of Houston's cougar.
Bonus points for the sick elbow drop, though.
Not saying we could successfully lift 432 pounds above our heads, but dang, that looks painful.
German weightlifter Matthias Steiner dropped this massive barbell on his neck during the London Olympics this summer, but escaped serious injury.
Sometimes, when you fail, you actually win.
Why jump over hurdles when you could just RUN STRAIGHT THROUGH THEM?
File under: Never, Ever Gets Old.
After what could best be described as an "optimistic" shot attempt in a game last season, NBA center JaVale McGee showed some nice hustle getting back on defense. Only problem? His team still had the ball.
But that wasn't McGee's only legendary moment. Here, he shows why it's not a good idea to try dunking from the free throw line mid-game.
For some reason, London's Olympic promotions this summer involved hanging Mayor Boris Johnson on a zipline while waving a pair of tiny flags.
Then he got stuck halfway through and it was pretty much the best, funniest, awkwardest thing that could have happened.
Major Leaguer Kendry Morales broke his lower left leg while celebrating a game-winning grand slam in 2010. This edited video provides the before, during and after rundown.
See? White guys can jump? It's just the landing that's the hard part.
The announcer here sums it up perfectly. She calls this attempt from the 1992 Olympics "an absolute failed dive."
What begins as an innocent enough piggyback ride atop a fuzzy mascot turns into a pretty epic collision — and YouTube gold.
Dude! If you're gonna pump up the crowd like that, you can't just faceplant into the sand.
When you think about it, is there any better way to celebrate a touchdown than by pegging an unsuspecting spectator in the face? Bonus points for originality, at least.
You'd think a professional golfer could put the ball in the hole with less than 16 strokes. Kevin Na — and the rest of the world — found out otherwise on this par-four hole at the 2011 Valero Texas Open.
Well, that's one way of doing it...right?
Tie game, clock winding down — it's always better to get one last attempt up than just let the game go into overtime. A full court desperation heave with a 11 seconds to go is never the way to do it, however.
This classic gaffe by the University of Connecticut's Roscoe Smith came during a matchup of top teams in 2011.
Its veracity may be suspect, but this 2008 YouTube classic has more than 12.7 million views, despite a mind-numbing soundtrack.
The summer of 2011 was a tough time for NBA star LeBron James. It was full of lingering ill-will for his decision to the leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and snarky schadenfreude over his initial failure to win a championship with the Miami Heat.
So it makes perfect sense that he'd let off some steam by viciously dunking on a tiny kid at summer camp, right? That's what happens at the 0:43 mark of this video.
We're not quite sure why this mascot thought standing on top of a basketball rim was a good idea.
Image: EA Sports