Fantasy winners donate to NFL players’ charities after RJ reporter’s tweet
Rams running back Todd Gurley has had a rocky relationship with fantasy football owners since entering the NFL in 2015.
But Las Vegas Review-Journal Raiders beat writer Michael Gehlken has found a charitable way to bring Gurley and other NFL players together with fantasy owners.
Last December, a few days before Christmas, Gehlken tweeted a list with 15 of the best fantasy players of 2016 and their respective charities.
“If a player helps win your fantasy league, consider donating portion of winnings to a cause he supports,” Gehlken’s tweet read.
His idea quickly took off after retweets from ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. More than a million Twitter users saw Gehlken’s idea, leading to many donations on behalf of last year’s top fantasy scorer, Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson.
This Christmas Eve, Gehlken tweeted another list of charities — this time with 25 players. His tweet had 1.5 million impressions and was retweeted 3,600 times as of Wednesday afternoon.
A thought again on Christmas Eve: If player helps win your fantasy league, consider donating portion of winnings to a cause he supports. pic.twitter.com/97uQVVNM62
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) December 24, 2017
“I had so much support and a warm reception to the concept I felt really driven to do it again,” Gehlken said. “Fantasy football championships are often decided on Week 16 that overlap with the holidays. With the holiday spirit and people winning money in their fantasy league, it just seems to me a real opportunity to do a lot of good for a number of charities.”
For this season, Gehlken teamed with ESPN fantasy senior writer Matthew Berry to bring more attention to the fantasy football donations cause. Berry and Gehlken asked fantasy owners to post screenshots of their donations.
“I’ve gotten screenshots for $500, $200 and multiple $100 donations,” Gehlken said. “It’s amazing to see so many people willing to donate a portion or the entirety of their fantasy football winnings.”
Gehlken’s idea has generated countless donations, but it also helped Gurley and fantasy owners bond in a sense.
Gurley was the top pick in many fantasy football drafts last year after a sensational rookie campaign. The Rams’ star hit a sophomore slump and felt the wrath of angry fantasy owners on social media.
This season, Gurley more than delivered as the highest-scoring player in fantasy. Many fantasy owners who had him in their lineups during Week 16 won a league title. The MVP candidate went off for 118 rushing yards, 158 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns against the Titans.
Gurley still hasn’t forgotten about the harassment he received, which prompted him to Tweet this after his monster Christmas Eve performance: “Fantasy owners you’re welcome now leave us alone. Merry Christmas!”
Fantasy owners you’re welcome now leave us alone. Merry Christmas!
— Todd Gurley II (@TG3II) December 25, 2017
Not long after his tweet, he began to receive screenshots of people’s donations to Gurley’s charity, Shriners Hospitals for Children.
“Fantasy is not so bad after all lol,” Gurley tweeted to a donation screenshot. “That’s major love. Thank you and Happy Holidays.”
Gehlken called the Shriners Hospitals for Children on Wednesday morning to get a sense of how many donations have been made with Gurley’s name.
“She was just getting back from her Christmas break when I called, and she told me she kept seeing Todd Gurley’s name appear in donations, and she’s not a football fan and had no idea who Todd Gurley was,” Gehlken said. “She told me, ‘Did this guy die or something?’ ”
Gehlken hopes his idea becomes a common tradition in fantasy football — along the lines of tipping the blackjack dealer after a big night.
Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GManzano24 on Twitter.
