The United States Federal District Court for the Northern District of California has sent word that it has modified the settlement distribution plan and certified the ongoing lawsuit against Electronic Arts and its exclusive NFL, NCAA, and AFL licenses. Because fewer than expected claims have been filed, the court has extended the claim period from this past March to May 15, 2013.

If you've already filed a claim, you're good to go, and the court says this agreement won't decrease your portion of the settlement. If you haven't filed a claim yet, aren't an EA employee, and bought a Madden NFL, NCAA Football, or Arena Football game for Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 or 3, the GameCube, or the Wii between January 1, 2005 and June 21, 2012, you can file a claim on the website and still be eligible to receive some compensation.

This decision does not mean the court has agreed to any wrongdoing on EA's part, and EA itself still denies the claims that these exclusive licenses were anything but "legal and proper," according to the notice. But EA says that it is filing this settlement "solely to eliminate the uncertainties, burden, and expense of further protracted litigation."