EA Sports Got Permission From Colin Kaepernick’s Tattoo Artists To Use His Ink In Madden ’15

ESPN — Aiming to get one step closer to real life, Electronic Arts will feature Colin Kaepernick’s tattoos in the upcoming version of its “Madden” video game. Last year, Kaepernick told broadcaster Jim Rome that he hoped to get the tattoos in this year’s version. That was complicated by the fact that the NFL Players Association and EA required the tattoo artists that designed tattoos for players to sign waivers giving the NFLPA and the video game company rights to reproduce the tattoos. The issue was pushed to the forefront when S. Victor Whitmill, the man who designed Mike Tyson’s face tattoo, sued Warner Brothers for its use of his tattoo in the movie “Hangover 2.” The two sides eventually settled, leaving no legal precedent as to who owns the tattoo — the artist or the person whose body it is on. In Kaepernick’s case, it helped that his tattoos were done by two artists, Nes Andrion of Endless Ink in Reno, Nevada, and Orly Locquiao of Humble Beginnings in San Jose, California. Kaepernick got the necessary permission from the artists and filed it with the NFLPA, who brought it to EA. “We want to be as authentic as possible, so we were pleased that Colin was able to secure the rights to the tattoos,” said Seann Graddy, senior producer of “Madden 15,” which will hit the shelves on Aug. 26.