Ten former NFL players, including five Hall of Famers, are asking the league and its production arm to pay up. On Tuesday, a group that includes Curley Culp and John Riggins filed a class-action suit in U.S. District Court in New Jersey to reclaim payment for the use of their names, images and likenesses from film footage they say was used on NFL Network and to promote the league without the ex-players consent. The other Hall of Famers suing are Dave Casper, Tom Mack and Ron Yary. "NFL Films has never obtained authorization from retired players to use their images to be, as NFL Films puts it, the 'backbone' of the NFL Network," according to the 81-page filing obtained by The Associated Press. "NFL Films' conduct goes far beyond simply use of images without consent. It continues to this day to strike licensing business deals, in New Jersey, affirmatively, and falsely, misrepresenting that it has obtained all former players' consent to appear in its promotional materials. The NFL does likewise." Though there is no stated sum in the complaint, it notes that according to published reports in 2002, NFL Films was making $50 million per year in licensing revenue, which applied only to third parties such as television networks. "It did not include the far greater value to NFL Films, and the NFL itself, to use NFL Films footage to promote the NFL's global brand, and to form the 'backbone' of the NFL Network," the suit said. Source: Sporting News
the nfl is just as guilty and greedy as the players and ex players are.they bare some responsibility in all the concussion problems like the players do.
