ESPN survey: College football players want to be compensated for video games

A new ESPN The Magazine survey of college football players found that 65 percent believe they should be compensated if their likeness is used in a video game.

The survey is based on anonymous responses from 92 college football players. The survey was conducted in July and published in the latest issue of ESPN The Magazine.

A representative for Electronic Arts declined to comment.

When the NCAA announced in July that it would not renew its contract with EA Sports, the group said it has "never licensed the use of current student-athlete names, images, or likeness to EA."

Not all agree that EA's NCAA games don't include accurate depictions of players. Former Arizona State University and University of Nebraska starting quarterback Sam Keller filed a lawsuit against EA in May 2009 claiming just that.

Keller and his legal team, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, contend that EA's NCAA games use athletes' likenesses, including accurate depictions of height, age, and weight, without permission.

A United States court of appeals recently rejected EA and NCAA's latest appeal over the use of collegiate athletes' likenesses in the publisher's games. The court dismissed EA's claim that the practice of using an athlete's likeness was protected under the First Amendment.

EA will continue to publish college football games--without the NCAA's name and marks--as part of a new deal with the Collegiate Licensing Company. An all-new college football game is currently in development for next-generation consoles.