Tim Tebow was with the New England Patriots and now that he is out of a job after being back in the NFL, he has the chance to make an impact in the courtroom in a completely different case, this one involving the NCAA, EA Sports, likenesses of athletes and the possible future of college sports.
The case involving Ed O'Bannon from UCLA and other athletes about use of their likenesses is still years away from going to trial, but Tebow himself can make a difference to the case, as his likeness was used in a video game while he was still in college. According to CBS Sports, Tebow's name appeared in the 2010 edition of the EA Sports NCAA college football game and that was released in 2009, while he was still playing for the Florida Gators in college.
A user on SB Nation saw the use of the name first and it showed a player using the Florida Gators playbook with a play in it titled, "Shotgun Twin QB Tebow", which clearly uses his name and that could mean trouble later on if he joins the suit if it becomes a class action one depending on what the courts decide. Ed O'Bannon of UCLA is spearheading a lawsuit against the NCAA, EA Sports and others for using the likeness of players and making money off of it without giving anything to the players.
The NCAA and EA Sports has tried to dismiss the claims, but the Tebow play makes it clear that they have a disregard for using the names and likenesses of players and making money off of it. The NCAA wants to avoid paying possibly millions or even billions to athletes over the years and while the NCAA says that they had no idea about it, emails showed that people within the organization knew that the likenesses of players were being used and that could be damning later down the line.
The fact that Tebow's name is involved makes it more high profile and if he chose to join the lawsuit that would bring it even further along. Other players like Johnny Manziel may want to start making money off of their names like the college's do and EA is on the defensive after losing a case that said they could use the names based on First Amendment rights, but that was lost after an appeal by the company. Someone who worked for the company said that people knew they were using the likenesses and didn't care.
Tebow was ditched by the Jets and although he rushed for just 102 yards and threw for 39 last season, he was hoping for a better result with the Patriots, but obviously that did not happen. He could bring some clout to the suit if he joins, as the NCAA and Florida and EA Sports for that matter made millions off of his name while he made nothing. The NCAA is acting like they aren't scared, but they are trembling at the outcome of this case.
