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The Last Hurdle for the Return of College Sports Video Games

Published

5 years ago

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Do you remember running the pick-n-roll with John Wall and Demarcus Cousins on NCAA Basketball 10 or running the Wildcat with Jojo Kemp on NCAA Football 14?

These were the last video game for each college sport.

With the NCAA voting unanimously to allow student-athletes to profit off of their names and likeness, it appears the infamous NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball games have a good shot of making a comeback as soon as 2021.

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There is just one large hurdle. How are the athletes going to be paid?

That sounds like a simple question, with a simple answer but it’s not.

For professional sports video games such as Madden and NBA 2K, it’s not a complex task to pay the athletes. Their respective Player’s Associations negotiate with the video game company and receive their compensation.

Student-athletes don’t have a similar party protecting their interests. The closest organization that resembles any similarity, is the NCAA, and we know they don’t always have the student-athletes best interests.

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With that being said, as of now, that is the best option and to be fair, the NCAA has made it work in the past with the previous video games with EA Sports and 2K.

In the past, EA Sports bought the NCAA license and paid dividends to each school based on their “tier”. The proposal suggested a minimum $78,000 payout to first-tier teams, $47,000 to second-tier teams, $31,000 to third-tier teams, and $7,500 to fourth-tier teams.

Back in 2014, five schools shared their revenue from each video game.

 NCAA Football 14NCAA Basketball 10
Louisville$85,845$26,594
UCLA$57,230$26,593
Clemson$85,845$18,616
Wisconsin$143,076$26,593
Texas A&M$57,000$18,616

With players now receiving a “piece of the pie”, I would expect schools to receive a smaller amount. The cleanest way to pay the athletes would be for the NCAA to negotiate a flat fee and divide annually amongst players using a similar tier system shown above.

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We’re one step closer!

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Football

Kentucky Athletic Collectives Rank 11th of 16 Teams in SEC, Bring in over $11 Million

Published

2 weeks ago

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December 10, 2024

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Kentucky ranks 11th of 16 SEC teams in collective fundraising.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

For better or for worse of college sports, NIL is here to stay and it certainly gives an advantage to schools with more money. Just looking at the SEC alone, collectives raised more than $200 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year. Unfortunately, Kentucky is ranked in the lower half of that.

According to documents from the House v. NCAA proposed settlement, Kentucky raised $11,254,204 from athletics collectives for the 2023-24 fiscal year. That ranks 11th of the 15 public universities in the SEC and is just more than half of the top collective, Texas who raised over $22 million.

Full Rankings

Rank
School NameCollective Funding
1Texas22,272,474
2LSU20,137,141
3Georgia18,326,566
4Texas A&M17,228,714
5Alabama15,995,406
6Florida15,802,237
7Oklahoma14,817,595
8Tennessee11,602,164
9Auburn11,588,953
10Arkansas11,544,039
11Kentucky11,254,204
12S. Carolina9,554,700
13Ole Miss8,872,378
14Missouri7,146,859
15Mississippi St.6,467,166
NRVanderbiltNot Available (Private School)

While collective funding is low, Kentucky has been a top 20 athletic program in total revenue, partly thanks to being a school that profits from its basketball program. Looking ahead to 2025, Kentucky is expected to stay in the top 20 nationally in athletic revenue, fifth in the SEC by bringing in an estimated 131,139,792. Ahead of programs like Georgia, LSU, Florida, and Tennessee.

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With revenue sharing coming in the near future, even more money is going to be involved in roster and program building. Schools in the Big Ten and SEC have an even bigger advantage due to their new TV deals, giving them up to an extra $70 million or more.

A new era of college sports is here. It’s time to prepare and embrace it.

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Football

Kentucky Wide Receiver Calls for “A Lot” More Leadership and Accountability from Staff

Published

3 weeks ago

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December 2, 2024

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Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops walks onto the field before the game against the Louisville Cardinals.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

A poor offensive line. Inconsistent quarterback play. A lot of things led to Kentucky football’s abysmal 2024 season. However, they had the talent to finish better than 4-8, only defeating one power opponent this season. So what could have helped?

Kentucky wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin was asked that question after the Wildcats’ loss to Louisville on Saturday. To his credit, he answered honestly and professionally.

“A lot more leadership,” Maclin said. “Holding guys accountable for things. A lot more discipline for all the guys… All around, players and coaches. We’re still a team, I don’t want to point at any one person or specific group. All around we need better leadership.”

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Maclin is a junior and could return for another season. Despite talking about Kentucky taking the next step, he has not made his decision and will be returning home to talk to his family to do so. If Maclin does return, it sounds like Kentucky will have a leader in the receiving room.

Despite being a 1,000-yard receiver at North Texas, Maclin was not targeted often. However, on his 13 receptions, he caught four for touchdowns, the most of any receiver on the team.

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Kentucky Player Seen At Concession Stand During Kentucky’s 41-14 Loss to Louisville

Published

3 weeks ago

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December 2, 2024

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A Kentucky football player was seen at buying food from the concession stand in Kentucky's 41-14 loss to Louisville.

Kentucky’s on-field product against Louisville was poor to say the least, sending 99% of Wildcat fans home early. It even sent an injured player from the sideline to get a snack…

Yes, offensive lineman Gerald Mincey, one of Kentucky’s most expensive transfer portal additions, was seen at one of the concession stands at Kroger Field during Kentucky’s 41-14 defeat.

Watching a 4-8 team is bad, but even worse to do on an empty stomach.

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Mincey is a senior and will not be returning next season, but it is nice to see him reinvesting some money back into the program.

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