Just as Detroit Lions safety Glover Quin told reporters that he’s an investor in FanDuel and DraftKings, New Jersey Congressman Frank Pallone wants daily fantasy sports’ two biggest websites to reveal who else from the NFL has a stake in or played their games.
Pallone is also the ranking Democrat on a congressional committee that will likely soon hold hearings on the legality of the daily fantasy sports industry.
From The Hill:
“Letters Pallone sent to the websites, FanDuel and DraftKings, on Thursday asked for the names of players, coaches, referees, training personnel and team staff and owners who had used the websites in the last year. It also asked them to provide the total entry fees and winnings of each player.”
Additionally, Rep. Pallone also asked the two daily fantasy sites to provide information on how they keep track of the participants playing their games and which of them have ties to professional sports leagues and college sports.
You can read the letter sent to DraftKings CEO Jason Robins here. (The company confirmed to The Hill’s David McCabe that it had received the letter.) In it, Pallone also points out that the NFL is the only sports league that has not expressly prohibited its players from participating in daily fantasy sports contests. MLB, the NBA and NHL, along with the NCAA, do not allow their players to play daily fantasy games involving their particular sports.
League spokeman Greg Aiello told the Detroit Free Press that the NFL has no problem with its players investing in daily fantasy companies, considering it a personal investment like trading in the stock market. However, the league has told its personnel that it can’t accept winnings exceeding $250 during a given season.
A United States congressman will presumably have more success trying to obtain the names of NFL players with stakes in daily fantasy. Awful Announcing contacted the NFLPA regarding other players who may have invested in DraftKings and FanDuel, but did not receive a response.
[The Hill]
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About Ian Casselberry
Ian is a writer, editor, and podcaster. You can find his work at Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He's written for Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation.