College athletes in EA lawsuit will receive an average of $1,600

Back in July, a judge approved a $60 million settlement between Electronic Arts and a number of college athletes over the use of their likeness in games. Athletes with a valid claim, all 24,819 of them, will finally get their share of the settlement. The average player will receive $1,600 after lawyers for the class action take their 30-percent cut. Of course, the lead plaintiffs (Ed O'Bannon, Ryan Hart and Sam Keller) will get the most at approximately $15,000 each. A group of 21 players will receive $5,000 each for their role as representatives in the class action.

To determine the amount for each player, funds were awarded based on which games each athlete appeared in and how their likeness was used. Older EA NCAA titles are worth less, but if photos or an avatar of one of the plaintiffs was used, they'll receive more than those who are referenced by name or body description in a game. The lawsuit caused EA Sports to shelve its NCAA games entirely, including the popular NCAA Football franchise.