NCAA sues Electronic Arts

The NCAA has sued Electronic Arts and licensing firm Collegiate Licensing Co. over the proposed $40 million settlement concerning the use of college athletes' names and likenesses, it has been revealed.

As reported by The USA Today, the suit was filed on November 4 in Georgia state court. It claims that EA and CLC breached various contractual obligations to the NCAA like maintaining sufficient liability insurance to cover various claims and attorneys' fees.

What's more, the NCAA claims in the suit that CLC failed to appropriately oversee EA in its contractual obligation and that CLC did not provide the NCAA with access to documents and records that it should have been able to inspect.

The NCAA further claims that EA and CLC reached the proposed settled "without notice to the NCAA," and that details about the settlement were not divulged to the NCAA "despite the NCAA's repeated requests." For its part, the NCAA says it spent "millions of dollars in attorney's fees and costs" stemming from various lawsuits related to EA's NCAA games.

As a result of these alleged transgressions, the NCAA said it "has been harmed, continues to be harmed, and will suffer future harm" related to "EA's and CLC's unlawful actions."

As part of the lawsuit, the NCAA is seeking to stop EA and CLC from paying out the proposed settlement. It also wants EA to cover the NCAA for any future judgement of liability relating to EA's NCAA games and various legal fees.

An EA representative declined to comment on the lawsuit, while a CLC spokesperson said it is "caught in the middle of a dispute between NCAA and EA which should not involve us."

The NCAA pulled out of its relationship with EA July. The franchise was set to live on with a next-generation college football game in 2014 (that would not feature NCAA logos), but EA canceled this game in September due to legal matters.