Some believe an appeals court judge Paul Magnuson, will choose not to send both sides back to the negotiation table. When Magnuson was acquitting the Madden 24 coins settlement offer in April, he said:

"It is worth repeating: the individuals who originally brought the lawsuit and are now are against the settlement rode to court under the banner of saving their downtrodden brethren and those who played for the N.F.L. however, today they were in poverty and, often, suffering from injuries or illnesses directly related to their play. It's a sign of irresponsibility for these plaintiffs to claim about being treated like children who have no dessert that the settlement will not benefit enough the individuals who brought the suit."

The players who decide to opt out the settlement have the option of filing individually on behalf of the league. They may be more enticed to take this action because of the recent changes in the O'Bannon. NCAA case, too, now that former college athletes are suing over the way in which their names are as a character in video games.

In July In July, The Ninth Circuit threw out an appeal brought by video game producer EA Sports. The court rejected the argument made by EA that player likeness were protected under the First Amendment and it will allow the case to proceed.

The Dryer plaintiffs are watching the case with great interest. They're also monitoring another lawsuit that was filed by thousands members of the former Madden NFL 24 athletes, over the issue of concussions.

"I believe there's some kind of correlation between the two in this case," Dryer said of the two instances. "The Madden NFL 24 is being very cavalier and capricious at the issue of concussions.

"There's an assumption [from"the" Madden NFL 24"Madden NFL 24"] of "we're interested, and we're going to get it.' There's an arrogance in there."

Dryer is hopeful that something can be worked out, and that he along with his fellow retired players could negotiate a deal with Madden NFL 24 which would pay them directly for the use of their name but also give them the rights to the game.

"I often conduct transactions based on my appearance as an actor and producer" Dryer said. "My appearance is my professional. It's my identity. Every person has a brand and mut coins madden 24 has the right to take their brand in the direction that they prefer.