NCAA Explores Cost Of Player Likeness, Opens Door For NCAA Video Game To Return

The NCAA announced that they are creating a working group that will explore complex issues surrounding their players, more specifically the compensation athletes will get for the use of their likeness.

Since the news has broke, rumors have been swirling that it is an initiative to bring back the NCAA video games, specially NCAA Football, which has Mike Valenti excited.

"I'm breaking the news, it's very exciting! There's a chance that NCAA the football game is coming back. If it comes back, you guys will miss me because I'm not coming to work anymore. It's the greatest game ever."

EA hasn't released a NCAA game since 2013. They reached a settlement in June of 2014 that cost the company $60 million. EA wrote nearly 25,000 checks out to college athletes that were worth just over $1,200 on average.

The news of the games possibly returning has caught a lot of people's attention, including ESPN College GameDay analyst Kirk Herbstreit.

So @OSU_AD if all goes well is there a chance we get our NCAA Football video game back?!? Just asking for a few 100k friends that have missed the game desperately for 5 years—including former and current players. Haha!! Be a hero! https://t.co/TE988flpax

It wouldn't just be NCAA Football coming back. EA also released NCAA Basketball between 1998 and 2010 and NCAA Baseball in 2006-07.

While the cost of using the likeness has yet to be announced, it's not expected to be cheap and EA has to begin thinking if it's even worth it.

"I talked to my buddy who works for EA and he basically just said it. Even before this likeness issue, not enough people buy it to make it worth making and that's the issue."

With video games being more popular than ever, there's little doubt that these games wouldn't fly off the shelf, especially when you have people like Valenti claiming that these games are the best ever.

Which spurred the question: what is the greatest sports game ever made?

Mike Sullivan chimed in with a dark horse candidate.

"For people my age," said Sully, "The Backyard Baseball series was the best man. With Pablo Sanchez and you could draft players like Randy Moss in Backyard football. It was so much fun."

Other games that were discussed was the Madden series, Tiger Woods Golf and NHL '94.