Judge Approves $60M Settlement in Student-Athlete Video Game Lawsuit

It's not going to make any student-athletes (or former student-athletes) rich, but a federal judge's approval of a $60 million settlement as part of a class-action lawsuit filed against the NCAA and Electronic Arts is still fairly monumental.

"This landmark decision marks the first time student-athletes will be paid for the likeness or image, and stands as a huge victory in the ongoing fight for student-athletes' rights," said Steve Berman, lawyer for the plaintiffs, in a statement.

As part of the settlement, any student-athlete on the roster of a Division 1 men's football or men's basketball team—whose team was included on any Electronic Arts video game released between May 4, 2003 and September 3, 2014—may file for a claim as part of the settlement. More than 20,000 student-athletes filed for a claim based on the original July 2 deadline. That deadline has since been extended to July 31 for interested parties.

The maximum amount that any individual player will be able to earn is $7,200, and they might receive it as early as September (depending how appeals to the settlement go). That's not a huge amount, especially if said student-athletes went on to have lucrative professional careers in sports, but it's something. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken might even reduce the fees attorneys are getting for their work from 33 percent of the overall claim to 30 percent, which would free up a bit more for players.

"She wants what we want: a fair payment for the attorneys, who took tremendous risks, and the best results for those athletes who make claims. The claims rate is approaching 30% and that is a great response. The awards are sizable, and the athletes who were there—[Sam] Keller and [Shawne] Alston—are elated with the result and their roles in it," said Rob Carey, an attorney for the plaintiffs, in an interview with Sports Illustrated.

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Wilken also awarded $44.4 million in attorneys fees and $1.5 million for costs earlier this week in a separate class action lawsuit brought by 20 former student-athletes against the NCAA. In this lawsuit, plaintiffs contended that that the NCAA violated U.S. antitrust laws by not allowing athletes to earn any share of the revenues from the use of their images for commercial purposes—including video games. The NCAA is currently awaiting a decision for the appeal it filed to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeal.