A judge has upheld a November ruling that ordered the NFL Players Association to pay $28 million to retired NFL players who did not receive royalties from licensing agreements related to EA's Madden NFL franchise, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

A jury decided in November that the NFLPA must pay $7.1 million for breaching its fiduciary duty to retired players whose likenesses were used in the Madden NFL series. An additional $21 million was awarded in punitive damages.

The NFLPA filed an appeal, saying only active players were subject to the licensing agreement.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of over 2,000 retired players who were seeking licensing fees related to videogames, trading cards and other products that featured their likenesses.