Notre Dame Football: EA NCAA Football video game stance puts Irish ahead

EA Sports NCAA Football video game or not, Notre Dame football put themselves a step ahead with their hardline stance on name, image and likeness.

Notre Dame Vice President Jack Swarbrick was extremely succinct in his comments concerning the anticipated return of the EA Sports College Football video game.

“Notre Dame Athletics welcomes the return of EA Sports College Football, a video game series that has historically helped promote interest in college football,” he said.

Then came the sizable caveat.

“Notre Dame will not, however, participate in the game until such time as rules have been finalized governing the participation of our student-athletes.” he continued, “As those rules are developed, it is our strong desire that student-athletes be allowed to benefit directly from allowing their name, image and performance history to be used in the game.”

That was the entirety of the statement, which on its surface, seems to pit Notre Dame football against one of college football fans’ greatest joys. But Swarbrick and the Irish knew exactly what they were doing with their release, and it wasn’t mean to paint them as killjoys, rather, as emissaries.

It doesn’t take too much reading between the lines to interpret the message the Irish administration is really sending. “Pay the players for their likeness. Now.”

In actuality, by taking such a hardline stance, Notre Dame football broadcast to all potential recruits their desire to enable them to grow their own individual brands and make some money doing what they love.

The name image and likeness debate has raged on for some time. At this point, it seems like an inevitability that players will receiver some sort of compensation for their own name. If anything, Notre Dame has put itself at the front of the line of staunch defenders of their players’ rights. And that’s going to sell just fine.