The New York Times examines the use of college athletes' likenesses in videogames.

Although [Arizona State quarterback Sam] Keller's name did not appear in [NCAA Football], there was little doubt that he was the inspiration for the Arizona State quarterback in its 2005 edition. The virtual player shared Keller's jersey number, 9, as well as his height, weight, skin tone, hair color and home state. The virtual quarterback even had the same playing style, as a pocket passer. "That was what made it so cool," said Keller, who transferred to Nebraska in 2006. "It was so blatant."

Keller has since come to view his appearance in the video game in a different light: as exploitation.

In professional sports, you can pay the players to use their likenesses. This doesn't happen in college sports. The National Collegiate Athletic Association mandates that players can't make money from their status as athletes. But aren't the NCAA and game publishers making money from their status as athletes? Is enough money even at stake to make it an issue?

Legal experts said it would be difficult to quantify how much the likenesses of college players are worth, but by comparison, the N.F.L. players union earned more than $35 million in royalties from Electronic Arts in 2008.

Of course, if some of this money is then passed along the guys whose likenesses are used, doesn't that contradict the concept of amateur athletes? Keller (pictured, virtually) is suing Electronic Arts and the NCAA. Read more about it here.

The whole thing seems very dubious to me, so I've decided to personally refrain from playing sports games until the issue is resolved. Maybe even longer.

(Thanks Dingus!)