College Football Power Schools Bail Out on EA Sports CFB Game

((ht: collegefootballtalk.com))

Hmmm....

Coincidence? Or not?

It appears the Big 10, Pac 12 and SEC have all told EA Sports "Thanks, but no thanks" when it comes to having their teams represented in EA Sports game: NCAA Football.

The move comes on the heels of the NCAA distancing themselves too.

The SEC was first to announce this, saying: “Neither the SEC, its member universities, nor the NCAA have ever licensed the right to use the name or likeness of any student to EA Sports.”

The other conferences followed suit shortly thereafter.

We find this utterly fascinating in light of the Ed O'Bannon class action suit against the NCAA for royalty payments for just such an arrangement.

We should also remind you of the NCAA bailing out of the college player jersey selling business just last week after being ridiculed on the Internet. The reason for that is very much the same as in this instance.

You can read last weeks story for background RIGHT HERE

If we were in Las Vegas and betting on the motivation for such a decision by the "Big Name" schools, we'd justify it like this:

(1) The NCAA and power conferences are petrified they are going to lose the O'Bannon suit and will be liable for a small fortune. Because of that fear, they are distancing themselves from as many things bearing the likeness of College Athletes they possibly can.

(2) All the above conferences are going to be part of the "Mega-Division" we fully expect to be announced at the NCAA meetings in January. If this happens and the NCAA wins the O'Bannon case, rest assured they will cut a large--no, an extra large deal with EA Sports to license their teams and players. But only the "Power Schools".

So there's your food for thought. Nothing snarky here, just the reality of the situation. We fully believe the NCAA and the Power Schools (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12 and SEC) are positioning themselves for the inevitable shift. They will go on their own, make a gazillion dollars in TV money from ESPN and from merchandising on their own.

Folks, if you thought "Galactic Realignment" over the past two years was crazy, well, hold on to your shorts, when this College Football season ends, that's going to look like a blip on the radar....