My Husband Has Begun Scouting the Aliens in Our Attic for His Fantasy Football Team and I Found a Depth Chart
Craig plays fantasy football. Craig plays in four leagues. Craig has, without any apparent irony, begun scouting the attic beings as potential waiver wire pickups. He has sent them a questionnaire. The questionnaire asks about their forty-yard dash, their experience catching in traffic, and whether any of them have historically struggled in cold weather. There was a response. The response addressed all three questions. I am not going to share the answers because Craig says it's a competitive advantage.
There is now a depth chart on the refrigerator. It has two columns: Earth and Other. Craig says he is "building a balanced roster."
My question is: is this allowed, and does Craig get to keep the players if the league finds out.
Renee. I have reviewed the questionnaire responses and I have three things to say.
First: the forty-yard dash answer is not a legal time. I cannot share it. But Craig is right to be excited.
Second: roster eligibility. This is genuinely uncharted territory. The major fantasy platforms require players to be on an active NFL roster, which these individuals are not, which technically makes them undrafted free agents. Craig cannot add them to his official lineup. However, Craig knew this. Craig is not playing them. Craig is using them as a psychological edge — he knows something his league mates don't, and that knowledge is affecting his decision-making in ways that are, from what I can see, improving it considerably. This is legal. This is actually just good scouting.
The depth chart can stay on the refrigerator. The league cannot take the players because the league does not know about the players. The league will never know about the players. What happens in the attic stays in the attic, Renee. That is the first rule of competitive advantage and also, increasingly, first contact.
Water the rest of the lawn. Show them you are maintaining the property. It sends a message.