Former NFL Players v. Madden NFL

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California rejected EA’s motion to strike former NFL players’ right of publicity claims for EA’s failure to license their likeness for Madden NFL. EA licensed the rights for current players but did not do so for former players. They also did not mention the players by name but used their team, year of play, skin color, height, weight and position. The Players include Vince Ferragamo, Michael Davis, Samuel Michael Keller and Billy Joe Dupree. EA attempted to have the claims struck based on several defenses under the First Amendment’s right to free speech. All of these claims were rejected. You can read the entire decision HERE.