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        the Gridiron >> between the 20's >>  Anyone else see this?
        
(Message started by: Drew Rosenhaus on Aug 23^rd, 2005, 3:21pm)

Title: Anyone else see this?
Post by Drew Rosenhaus on Aug 23^rd, 2005, 3:21pm

not sure if this is the right spot for this post...

I was watching a sports show recently and was wondering if anyone had viewed it as well (I think it was on Costas Now or some other sports show on HBO). Anyway, there was a segment about a court case coming up where the various players' associations are taking a very serious look into the fantasy culture.

These associations feel that the player should have the rights or ownership on the "stats" that are generated by said player. The overall feeling in the story was that the players have a good case and if the players won this case, the costs involved in fantasy sports could greatly increase (the cost of stat services could go up 4, 5, 6x).

Did anyone else see this? I would be interested to hear some thoughts. Personally, it seems to me that people are desperate to try and cash in on fantasy in any way possible. What better way than to create a super-premium on the one thing that drives all of fantasy - the numbers.

Title: Re: Anyone else see this?
Post by Tony_O on Aug 23^rd, 2005, 6:40pm

I saw this as well....I thought it was on ESPN's outside the lines though. I thought it was very interesting and if the pa's win they could charge ESPN, Yahoo, etc for using the stats, which could eliminate free fantasy football leagues. >:( :( :o

Title: Re: Anyone else see this?
Post by Drew Rosenhaus on Aug 23^rd, 2005, 7:08pm

Tony_O,

Absolutely right on Outside the Lines. Thanks for the correct info. Your thought on the elimination of the free leagues is dead on. If the price increases greatly, there is no way that they could offer it for free and it could have devastating effects all around.

I am in one of Steg's leagues here (GBRFL) and he charges a very nominal fee to be an owner to participate - I don't think the fees he collects even cover his costs. However, I could see our fees jumping greatly if this did pass.

I believe that fantasy sports (especially football) have made a dramatic, direct impact into the overall success of the sports. I mean really, how many people out there seriously care about San Francisco vs. Washington on a Sunday night if both team are 5-10? I have a suspicion that a large portion of viewers for that game have a fantasy interest in the outcome, which makes them watch the game.

I just think it's sad that stats are now being regarded as a owned property. Don't we pay enough to see the damn game, anyway? I suppose it's within their rights to think that way. But I am getting tired of seeing companies try to jump in on this thing when they are missing the spirit of the whole movement. This is a phenomenon created by people who enjoy sports, not by a corporation.

Title: Re: Anyone else see this?
Post by prm on Aug 23^rd, 2005, 7:17pm

>:(...ok, i'm in rant mode now - this is all !@#$%...if noone bought #$%^ jerseys, helmets, & team $!@#, then the nfl would be nothing - if we didn't buy tickets - the nfl would be nothing...and

Title: Re: Anyone else see this?
Post by prm on Aug 23^rd, 2005, 7:40pm

dammit!!!... >:(
...ok, i'm in rant mode now - this is all !@#$%...if noone bought #$%^ jerseys, helmets, & team $!@#, then the nfl would be nothing - if we didn't buy tickets - the nfl would be nothing...and if the nfl said this is what you will make for playing this position - period! - (include profit sharing & incentives) - then i can guarantee 90+ percent of those bastards would still play because they're playing frickin' football for a living - their other option, like the rest of us poor dumb slobs - would be to finish school and get a fr^&** job and participate in the rat-race doing something that they'd probably hate more than playin' ball for a helluva lot more than they'd be makin' else...i don't feel sorry for football players not making what they think they should be making...i risk my frickin' life driving to work every day...the bottom line is this, without us football is nothing - you won't get a mass boycott of football any sooner than you'd get people not buying gas anywhere for a week to teach the oil companies a lesson...although i'm positive it would work...i love football - haven't watched a single baseball or basketball game since the strike - don't care about any other sport - but i'm willing to not participate in my small part of supporting the sport if things go that direction..."hallelujah, holy $&!^, where's the tylenol??!!"...
prm...

Title: Re: Anyone else see this?
Post by DUKE0313 on Aug 23^rd, 2005, 8:09pm

Oh come on guys, lighten up. These poor slobs have families to feed... ::)...
..."bling-bling" to buy..."cribs" to build..."rides" to acquire...

Title: Re: Anyone else see this?
Post by Philly on Aug 23^rd, 2005, 8:36pm

I can't imagine this will actually happen.

Title: Re: Anyone else see this?
Post by Tony_O on Aug 23^rd, 2005, 8:51pm

on 08/23/05 at 19:08:05, Drew Rosenhaus wrote:

Absolutly right as well. The ripple effect would effect all aspects.....individuals league fees, league management fees, fantasy internet sites. We pay for the right to access these stats by paying for cable, merchandise, tickets, and the products that the nfl advertises. There is no reason the players or owners need to suck the turnip dry by collecting money from fantasy football as well.

Title: Re: Anyone else see this?
Post by Drew Rosenhaus on Aug 24^th, 2005, 12:29am

Quote:

I can't imagine this will actually happen.

Philly - I wish I could share that thought. Unfortunately, we are talking about some serious money here. And with these player associations, who knows? I really hate to be cynical (and I hope you are right) but if they feel they are missing some of the pie, they have the clout, legal expertise, experience, etc. to try and get this done.

But hopefully this is all just talk. The backlash from fans could maybe be enough to make them think twice about it if it progressed farther. From the sound of it, I would hate to be a player and have to explain to prm why he is now paying $200 to get his stats. [smiley=chair.gif]

Quote:

Oh come on guys, lighten up. These poor slobs have families to feed... ...
..."bling-bling" to buy..."cribs" to build..."rides" to acquire...

:) I will always picture L. Spree (making, what, 9 mil?) saying that...

Title: Re: Anyone else see this?
Post by Head Linesman on Aug 24^th, 2005, 12:22pm

[offtopic]Although there are no specific guidelines regarding where this topic should be posted, in accordance with the general guidelines I am moving it to Between the 20's.[/offtopic]

Title: Re: Anyone else see this?
Post by junkyardjake on Aug 24^th, 2005, 3:47pm

This is an interesting issue, I pretty much agree it is a longshot that the player's association will win, but who knows, crazier things have happened. Even if they do win, it will no doubt get appealed and be a long drawn-out battle.

The legal argument that the player's are making involves what they think is an unauthorized commericial misappropriation of their individual, unique value as celebrities.

For example, there have been a number of famous cases involving this, like when Johnny Carson won a case against a company that was manufacturing a porta-potty named 'Here's Johnny !' (I swear, this really happened). Bette Midler also won a case when an advertising agency hired a voice impersonator to say stupid ad copy she never agreed to saying in a radio commericial.

This seems to be a different issue however. For one thing, how do you construe the statistics that describe how you performed the job you are paid a Gazillion dollars a year to do, as inherently 'personal' information. Another problem is that any restriction on 'newsworthy' information regarding a sports personality might be regarded as a violation of free speech.

I think one of the arguments that the players will obviously make is how large the fantasy sports industry has gotten, but I'm sure they are compensated for the direct use of truly personal player information, e.g. fantasy football magazines probably need to at least seek permission before publishing personal information.

But the bottom line, as I think PRM was alluding to is, doesn't the fantasy industry actually increase the interest in, and marketing opportunities for these players? Maybe in the absence of fantasy sports, these guys wouldn't be worth as much as they are now. So this may not even be a case of misappropriation, but a case where if they discouraged interest in fantasy sports, they would also decrease their personal market value. And I would say, they probably deserve that to happen anyway, just for making the use of public information statistics an issue.