Third and not long until fantasy convention
After NFL clashes, Romo’s event on track
Two times in two years, Tony Romo’s fantasy football convention has been canceled after clashing with the NFL over gambling and sponsorship disputes.
In 2015, nearly 100 NFL players were scheduled to attend Romo’s National Fantasy Football Convention in Las Vegas before the NFL stepped in and banned players from attending because it was being held at a casino property. The event was canceled as a result.
In 2016, Romo’s company tried to move the event to Pasadena, Calif., partly because “there wasn’t a casino that close to it,” said Andy Alberth, who coowns the event with his cousin, Romo, the ex- Dallas Cowboys quarterback.
But the NFL stepped in again, this time because of an issue the league had with the headline sponsor, EA Sports. As a result, the company said it had to pull the plug, putting its future in doubt until it decided to make a third try for its inaugural convention— this time in Dallas for a three- day event this weekend.
“Never say never, because you never know what they ( the NFL) are going to do, but we never got this close. And we have really good lawyers,” Alberth told USA TODAY Sports. “We’re very confident and are super- excited to see this thing come true after three years.”
Cowboys players Dez Bryant and Ezekiel Elliott are among more than 50 current or former NFL players expected to attend what Alberth describes as a Disneyland or Comic- Con for football fans — a convention from Friday to Sunday where fans interact with players and fantasy football experts.
It almost didn’t happen, but the company decided to put up its dukes in a business struggle that highlights the power of the NFL and its policies.
Romo’s company is suing the NFL over both canceled events and is scheduled to go to trial in one case in November. In response, the NFL has said the company’s legal claims are baseless and that it was protecting its rights. Meanwhile, the company has scaled down its vision somewhat and expects this weekend’s event to attract 2,500 to 7,000 fans.
“We should be heading into year three right now with 150 players,” Alberth said. “It’s more of a local event this year than we want it to be, but we just didn’t have the budget and we lost a lot of money and have been fighting the NFL in court as well. We’re excited that through all their interference we can still have it.”
The NFL’s attorneys said the league did not improperly interfere with the previously scheduled conventions. But attorneys for the company disagree and said in 2015 that the NFL “likely decided to kill Tony Romo’s effort so that it could replace it with one of its own.” Each case is different and in dispute. Romo, who retired from the NFL this year, couldn’t be reached for comment. His involvement with the event started a few years ago when Alberth said he approached Romo about paying him to put his name on it. Romo instead said he wanted to play a bigger part of it and wanted an ownership stake to see “how big this can get,” according to Alberth, who said he is one of three owners of the convention company, including Romo.
In Alberth’s view, a national fantasy football convention had never been properly executed. If successful, the convention would make money from sponsorships and ticket sales.
But their grand idea quickly ran into problems. The first National Fantasy Football Convention ( NFFC) was supposed to be held at the Sands Expo convention center in Las Vegas, near the Venetian hotel and casino in 2015. Nearly 100 players were scheduled to appear, including Romo, Bryant and New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski.
And that was a big problem, according to the NFL. The league’s gambling policy states players and personnel are not allowed to make promotional appearances at casinos. Less than five weeks before the event, an attorney for the league phoned representatives of the Cowboys and said NFL players would be fined or suspended if they attended the NFFC, according to convention’s lawsuit against the NFL.
The event was canceled, and the NFFC sued the NFL for damages. A judge sided with the NFL and threw the case out, but the NFFC has appealed. The case is still pending.
Despite the setback, Alberth and Romo tried again in 2016, this time at Pasadena Convention Center. EA Sports and its popular Madden NFL video game also were going to be a big part of it as a sponsor. And that was a problem at NFL headquarters. NFL attorneys contacted a representative for EA Sports to tell him the NFFC was displaying the Madden NFL Logo, which includes the NFL’s shield logo, on the NFFC website without the NFL’s approval. Shortly thereafter, EA Sports decided to cancel its participation in the event — a huge blow for the convention. Citing the NFL’s “interference,” the NFFC canceled the Pasadena event and pursued a lawsuit against the league that is set for trial in Texas in November.