There was a time when Sam Keller and his teammates couldn’t wait to get their hands on Electronic Arts Inc.’s latest edition of NCAA Football, which included their team and images down to Keller’s distinctive visor he wore while playing quarterback for the University of Nebraska in 2007.
EA shares undisclosed royalties with the NCAA for use of college stadiums, team names and uniforms and the players’ images in a game that racks up hundreds of millions of dollars in annual sales. Because they are amateur athletes, the players don’t receive any direct benefit from the appearances of their nameless images in the game.