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Decent ROI for 2009 World Champions of Fantasy Football
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Updated: Fri 1/29/2010 12:07 pm
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Decent ROI
By JOEL HAMMOND
I'm a little
late on this, but thought folks who missed Waiting For Next Year's
story would like to read about three Clevelanders making it big.
Some
people — ahem — play in five money fantasy football leagues and win $105
total.
Others — Cleveland-area residents Ed Oszterling, Craig Gillette and
Jason Conn — play in one and win $300,000 and a trip to the Super Bowl in
Miami.
The trio won the World Championship of Fantasy Football, a high-stakes
competition founded in 2002 that has awarded more than $12 million in prize
money since its inception. Each of the 875 teams involved paid a $1,750 entry
fee.
Conn (39, Shaker Heights resident) and Oszterling (36, Avon) work at
Cleveland-based metal-coating company Springco, while Mr. Gillette (35, from
Avon Lake) works at Amware, a Cleveland distribution warehouse.
Conn and
Oszterling took a few minutes to answer some questions as they prepare for their
trip to Miami in a couple weeks.
SportsBiz: I may or may not
have taken my fantasy addiction to a new level this year by entering a playoff
fantasy league; do you do the playoffs, also?
Conn: Anything to
prolong the fantasy season, right? We do a couple playoff leagues here and
there, but playoff leagues wind up being even more about luck and if you don't
have your players teams eliminated early. The WCOFF main event ended week 16 of
the regular season.
SportsBiz: You've been entering the WCOFF
since 2004, right? And paying the $1,750 entry fee each year? Or has it been
less of an investment in earlier years? Have you flown to Vegas each year for
it?
Conn: The price goes up a little each year. I want to say a team
cost $1,500 in 2004. The first 4 years, we had one team (three people invested).
Last year we bought two teams (six people invested) and this year we had four
teams (10 people invested). The WCOFF has drafts in Dallas, Atlantic City and
Orlando as well as Las Vegas. We elect to go to Vegas each year to draft because
it's the opening weekend of the NFL and it's a great weekend to be in Vegas, if
you like the sports book. Not all of the people who invested in the team
actually make the trip out each year. For those of us that do go, it's a date we
circle on our calendars and something we really look forward to each
year.
SportsBiz: If yes to those questions, how has your wife
reacted to that?
Conn: Typically my wife has not been a big fan of the
trip, as we typically do not win money — although we did win $6,000 in 2006. But
after this year when we won the $300,000, she does seem a little more tolerant
of all the fantasy football talk. The first year we got into the WCOFF, we
finished first and second in our home league and combined the winnings to pay
for our team. Ed and I have been the two primary owners of these teams and we
now play in about six local leagues here in Cleveland. We have won enough in
those leagues to pay for our portion of the WCOFF teams. Our business plan, if
you can even call it that, has been to win enough in fantasy football each year
to pay for the Vegas trip and then to maybe win our division. Winning the whole
thing was never even something we thought could happen.
Ed
Oszterling:My wife actually runs her own women's fantasy league that Craig's
fiancée also participates in, so they are both supportive of us and winning the
money helps, too!
SportsBiz: If you have it handy or can
remember, can you recount your draft for me? Chris Johnson in the first round,
Andre Johnson next? Where did you guys pick in the draft?
Conn: The
WCOFF drafts the Saturday after the Thursday night games had played, so Chris
Johnson fell to us in the second round after he had a subpar performance against
a tough Steelers defense. This is a point per reception league, so wide
receivers are valuable, as are running backs who catch a lot of balls. We
drafted in the No. 8 spot and took Andre Johnson, Chris Johnson, Chad Ochocinco,
Reggie Bush, Antonio Gates, Thomas Jones and Tony Romo.
For this format,
this was a year where having Chris Johnson on your team was a must and taking a
quarterback early did not necessarily pay dividends. Many serviceable
quarterbacks were available in the mid to late rounds. Thomas Jones outplayed
his sixth-round draft spot and (Kansas City's) Jamaal Charles, who was drafted
in round 11, was instrumental down the stretch for us once he took over for
Larry Johnson.
SportsBiz: How does the format work? Of all
WCOFF entrants, you get placed in a 12-team division, and each division winner
goes to the playoffs? Or does it work differently?
Conn: Weeks one
through 11, you play everyone in your division. The two best records and the two
highest point scoring teams play a two-week playoff head-to-head to establish
the division winner. All 73 winners and 44 wild-card teams (44 next highest
scoring teams on the year) advance to a three-week playoff where it's total
points. You get your Weeks 1-11 regular season average and your Weeks 12 and 13
average and then the next three weeks' total points. These five numbers are
totaled and highest number wins the WCOFF Main event. The WCOFF awards $5,500,
$1,500 and $500 for first, second, and third in each division as well as $1,250
for highest points scored Weeks 1-11 and best record Weeks 1-11. Between the
four teams we had won $7,250 prior to going into the
playoffs.
SportsBiz: The news release says you guys all are
Browns season ticket holders. I wrote a story in November detailing season
ticket holders' frustrations and heard from many that they were thinking of
canceling. Will your winnings go toward tickets or something
else?
Conn: I have season tickets through work, so that's not an
expense personally for me. I still enjoy going downtown to attend the games. As
frustrating as the Browns have been, there's also a social element that exists
regardless of winning or losing. Hopefully with the addition of Mike Holmgren
and his recent staff appointments, the ship will be righted. As cliché as it
sounds, my wife and I are taking my two sons to Disney for Spring Break. We will
also be doing some projects around the house with our share of the
winnings.
Ed Oszterling: Craig and I get to about three games a year
but we are not actually season ticket holders. We are both currently remodeling
our recreation rooms, so that is where the majority of the money will be going.
SportsBiz: You're going to Miami for the Super Bowl. Do you
have any preference on the four teams left? Is there any agenda for you guys in
Miami, or are you just going to enjoy the weather and the game? (Any WCOFF
activities you have to or want to do?)
Conn: I don't really have a
preference of any of the teams still remaining. I'm kind of partial to the
Midwest, so I guess I'd like to see Indianapolis win. I'm just hoping for some
playoff games that are more entertaining than the second week's games. The
organizers of the WCOFF have a five-bedroom house rented off the beach, so I
think we are just looking to relax and escape this Cleveland weather. The WCOFF
will have us on radio row doing as many interviews as we can to promote their
event.
Ed Oszterling: I am a Cowboys fan so I was hoping for them, but
now that they are gone I will be pulling for the Saints.
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