Maximum Football 2019 brought college football, at least partially, to the Xbox One and PS4 for the first time this fall. The game’s devs recently announced they want to take another step towards realism for future editions.
In the process, the small development team known as Canuck Play became the first to lay some important groundwork. They have become the first to announce they want to work out likeness royalty rights deals with college athletes.
The roadblock for the NCAA Football franchise to continue has always been a complicated one. A lawsuit found that if Electronic Arts wanted to continue, they would need to pay players for the rights to use even their likenesses in the game.
On the flip side, the NCAA has a rule against players earning off their image. The good news is they won’t for very much longer.
NCAA Board of Governors starts process to enhance name, image and likeness opportunities: https://t.co/tQaLUBgton pic.twitter.com/QaSYMAUfKn
— NCAA (@NCAA) October 29, 2019
Just before Halloween, we got a special treat in a relaxing of that rule. Our first reaction was that a return of NCAA Football was just around the corner. Maximum Football 2019 devs want to beat EA to the punch.
Not long after the NCAA made its announcement, Canuck Play made theirs:
Included with the statement is a “likeness submission” form. Here, real-life college football players can enter information such as their name, email, what year they will graduate college, and what college they play for.
It appears Canuck Play is putting together a database to build on the success of Maximum Football 2019. It’s early days still.
Just how players will earn royalties on their likenesses isn’t known. However, Canuck Play wants to get the ball rolling.
