Two big trades have improved the status of several fantasy football players in the AFC East heading into the NFL draft next weekend.

Last week the New York Jets traded a fifth round pick to Pittsburgh for Santonio Holmes. Holmes will miss the first four games via suspension and he’s maddeningly inconsistent at times. But he A) provides Mark Sanchez another weapon at wide receiver, B) takes coverage away from Braylon Edwards and Dustin Keller and C) provides yet another option on offense to take pressure off of the run game.

The Jets are my mid off-season pick to win the AFC Championship and they are building an offense to match the suffocating defense that developed last season.

From a fantasy standpoint Sanchez is still a wildcard at quarterback and that uncertainty could still drop Edwards, Holmes, Jerricho Cotchery and Keller in drafts. But I already liked Shonn Greene a lot and the Holmes addition only makes him more appealing as a top-notch running back option.

The price the Miami Dolphins paid for Brandon Marshall was considerably higher – second round picks in 2010 and 2011. But as long as the Dolphins can keep Marshall from getting in trouble on South Beach, his acquisition might be even bigger. The Dolphins were trotting guys like Davone Bess, Greg Camarillo and Brian Hartline out as number one wideouts. Those guys might have roles on good teams but clearly none are number one options.

Marshall is a top five or six wideout in the NFL, however, if not higher. And his addition not only takes the focus away from those guys but provides up-and-coming quarterback Chad Henne with a true ace.

I really, really liked what I saw from Henne in his first chance to play. I think with a number one wideout he becomes a borderline top 10 quarterback – and I definitely would take a chance on Henne before I would pick up Kyle Orton, Marshall’s field general in Denver last season.

Yet with Orton, Marshall still managed 101 catches and 10 touchdowns. I think he’ll approach that many catches, exceed 10 touchdowns and probably surpass his 1,120 yards as well.

Add the new found firepower of the Jets and Dolphins to the long-standing power that is New England and the AFC has made itself one of the first places to look for fantasy football firepower.

With Kurt Warner retiring Matt Leinart retakes the helm in Arizona, at least for now. If the Cardinals settle for roster status quo, that puts the fantasy football fates of superstars like Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin in the hands of a quarterback who has thrown for fewer than 4,000 yards and just 14 touchdowns since being drafted in 2006.

Zoneblitz.com expects the fantasy stats of nearly all Cardinals to take a hit, at least through the early portions of the 2010 season. Anthony Maggio, who is a freelance sports writer, a contributor to FantasyFootballChamps.com and the owner of the Punting Baxter blog, agrees that Warner’s retirement isn’t good news on the fantasy football scene.

Both Maggio and Zoneblitz agree that the Cardinals are likely to run the ball more, at least semi-balancing the lopsided pass-to-run ratio sported the last few seasons. But don’t immediately bump Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower up on your draft boards. Defenses aren’t fools. They’re likely going to dare Leinart to win games in the air, meaning they’ll dedicate extra efforts to shutting down the run game.

Maggio expects Wells, who showed signs of overcoming a fumbling problem during the latter half of 2009, to be the primary ball carrier. “Hightower may still snipe goal-line looks, but he’s almost certainly not going to be the PPR contributor he was this season and I don’t expect him to be a regular in fantasy lineups,” he says. “He’s a handcuff at best.”

The other problem with the running game is that defenses will be expecting it. They’ll likely dare Leinart to win games in the air, thus freeing up more defenders to stop the run.

The passing game stands to suffer as well. Fitzgerald remains one of the top two or three wideouts in the game. His leaping ability and hands will keep him there. But he likely drops behind Andre Johnson and possibly Reggie Wayne as the wideouts likely to be first picked (though Maggio says for now he’d still take Fitz ahead of Wayne due to the prospect of fantasy teams receiving little help from the Indy wideout during Week 16 – “But I reserve the right to change my mind on that one,” he said.).

Boldin will still see frequent targets and likely remain valuable as a fantasy player. But the Cardinals’ extra receivers, some of whom have been solid contributors and bye-week fill-ins, take a big hit. Steve Breaston, a 1,000 yard receiver in 2008, has been at worst a bye week contributor and often more the last two seasons.

Early Doucet also emerged during the playoffs and if Warner had returned he had the potential to be a fill-in play as well. That likely changes with Leinart at the helm, at least at the outset.

“I don’t think the Cardinals will pass quite as much, leaving less stats to be had in the passing game overall,” Maggio says. “Their stats will be so inconsistent that they likely won’t be usable fantasy entities.”

Warner’s retirement throws the entire roster into flux. At the moment, the only quarterback on the roster besides Leinart is Brian St. Pierre. So it would be surprising if another veteran and perhaps another developmental quarterback aren’t added at some point. But unless the Cards swing a deal for Donovan McNabb or a similarly-skilled player, it would appear as though the fantasy prospects of several Arizona players will take a hit heading into the 2010 season.

In a couple weeks we’ll hit the midpoint of fantasy football seasons. Those of you whose teams are struggling, it’s too early to give up hope. And for those of you that have gotten out of the gates strong – don’t start resting just yet.

Paul Charchian, who is founder of LeagueSafe.com, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association and a renowned fantasy football expert, has returned to Zoneblitz.com to offer some advice on who to keep, who to shop, and how to turn that fast start into a fantasy championship.

Thanks again for the time, Charch.

Zoneblitz: Five weeks into the season who are the biggest fantasy football surprises for the good so far?

Charchian: Each year only one or two receivers rise from relative obscurity to make an impact. This year it’s Steve Smith’s turn. I’m not ready to call him a great receiver. But he’s in a great position for sustained fantasy impact. He’s earned the trust of Eli Manning and defenses are forced to play to stop the Giants’ running attack. His production is not a fluke.

Zoneblitz: What about surprises for the bad?

Charchian: DeAngelo Williams has been tremendously disappointing. The bizarre part is that it’s hard to say why. He’s healthy. His offensive line is back. Sure, Jake Delhomme isn’t offering much threat from the passing game, but he didn’t last year either.

Zoneblitz: Are there two or three players you think are the best buy-low candidates? Guys who are sleepers for the second half of the season?

Charchian: Anquan Boldin immediately comes to mind. He’s a proven producer, his offense is intact, and he’s healthy. Plus, the Cardinals have their bye week out of the way. Greg Jennings should get better with the return of Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton to the Packers’ starting offensive line. He’s a great talent, and once Aaron Rodgers gets some time, he’ll find Jennings. I’d go to war with those two guys as my starters.

Maurice Jones-Drew has a lot of upside going forward, and is coming off two disappointing games. I expect the many new faces on the Jacksonville offensive line to start to gel over the next few weeks. The Jaguars schedule is soft for most of the rest of the year.

Zoneblitz: Who are your biggest sell-high candidates?

Charchian: Ronnie Brown and Michael Turner are two candidates. Brown has posted shockingly strong numbers, despite yielding a lot of carries to Ricky Williams. In past years, this rotation has sapped his touchdown totals. As defenses get tape on Chad Henne, they might neutralize the passing game, which would put pressure on Brown.

Turner just doesn’t look like himself to me. He seems bigger and slower. I don’t see the breakaway speed that he showed last year, when he led the league in long runs. He’s coming off a three touchdown game, so you can certainly sell high on him right now.

Zoneblitz: What should teams that are 4-1, 5-0 be doing to prepare for the rest of the season?

Charchian: I’ve been writing about this since 1993, our first year of Fantasy Football Weekly magazine. First and foremost, start looking at the matchups that your team will have in the playoff weeks. If you have any “stoppers” on the schedule (see Matt Forte), trade those players now, even if it means taking a loss or two in the regular season.

And, secondarily, start trading your depth guys to improve your starting lineup – even if they have bye weeks remaining. You want to roll into the playoffs with a killer starting lineup. Depth doesn’t help much in the short, single elimination fantasy playoffs.

Zoneblitz: There was a story written recently about all your fantasy football endeavors – our readers know about LeagueSafe. How is that doing, what other ventures would you like to mention and just how close are you to taking over the fantasy sports world?

Charchian: www.LeagueSafe.com is my free fantasy league finance management product.

Charch Media is my fantasy game building company. Most recently, we built Best Buy’s free fantasy football game, www.BestBuyFantasy.com.

www.fantasyvictory.com is a partnership with Fox 9 in the Twin Cities to offer free video content for fantasy footballers.

I host Fantasy Football Weekly on KFAN AM 1130 in the Twin Cities every Saturday morning from 10-Noon. It’s podcastable through iTunes as well. I host a video game radio show on KFAN as well. It’s called Video Games Weekly.

I write a weekly fantasy article for the St. Paul Pioneer Press every Friday. Buy the newspaper. The industry needs it.

I have regular weekly appearances on numerous radio stations around the country, but I’ll specifically mention Steve Czaban’s national show on Fox Sports Radio, every Friday at 7:30am.

Early this week Michael Crabtree finally ended his moronic holdout in San Francisco. And the New York Jets, in an effort to provide their rookie quarterback with another weapon, acquired potential stud Braylon Edwards for spare parts and draft picks.

While these were higher-profile roster moves than you usually read about at this stage of the season, neither move will have a dramatic impact on fantasy football, at least in the short term.

Lets start with the Jets. In “real” football, Edwards will give Mark Sanchez another target. And Edwards will have a better team around him. A change of scenery could help him, so he’s got the potential to improve his situation as a fantasy player more than anyone else involved in the deal. But that’s only if he can A) keep himself from getting suspended for off the field actions and B) start catching the ball. If he continues leading the league in drops the fans in New York will tear this guy apart.

And Sanchez, while impressive as a rookie starter thus far, was and still is certainly only a backup and bye week plug-in at this point, even with Edwards.

For Jerricho Cotchery, the Edwards acquisition will likely take some coverage off of him. At the same time, as the better player, Edwards also will likely take some targets away from Cotchery. At best, this is a lateral situation for him.

Thomas Jones and Leon Washington may benefit from having more coverage dedicated to the pass game. But in splitting carries, neither are putting up particularly fantasy-worthy numbers as it is and I would expect that, for the most part, that will continue.

Now the Browns. I’ve heard a few people talk about Mohamed Massaquoi as a free agent target.

Sure, he’s now the number one wide receiver for the Browns. But he’s still a rookie playing for a bad team with a horrible offense and with inept quarterbacks. If it were me I’d leave Massaquoi for others. See if they drop someone worthwhile onto the free agent heap instead.

Really, there weren’t any Browns I would have targeted before and there still aren’t. That’s a bad, bad team, both in real football and fantasy football.

Michael Crabtree could be a bit of a different story – if you have a roster spot and a month to wait.

Crabtree isn’t going to make an immediate impact. The team is 3-1 and they don’t need him to step up immediately.

But Crabtree’s skillset is one of the few things the team is truly missing. And say it takes him four weeks to get enough of the offense down to be a truly impactful player. Look at the schedule San Francisco plays late in the season.

Weeks nine through 16 include games against Tennessee (31st against the pass), Green Bay (tied for 30th), Jacksonville (tied for 27th), Seattle, Arizona (tied for 27th), Philadelphia and Detroit (32nd). That’s six pretty good matchups. And a guy like Crabtree doesn’t need a lot of touches to add a lot of potential firepower to your lineup.

So, in the short term, if you have strong receivers I’d probably let someone else grab Crabtree and see if they toss something better on to the waiver wire.

But if you are running a team that looks to have playoff aspirations, you are looking for a wide receiver with some high upside and you have a roster spot available, he might be worth rolling the dice on.

Anthony Maggio spent two years as an associate editor at Fanball, one of the earlier fantasy sports sites on the Internet. He has moved on from there but he’s still a freelance writer, covering both real and fantasy sports, the latter for FFChamps.com. You can read the rest of his writing at the blog puntingbaxter.wordpress.com, where he also provides additional fantasy sports analysis – including some kick ass team defense rankings.

There’s a strong possibility – talks are underway – that Maggio may team up with the proprietors of Zoneblitz to share some fantasy football thoughts via various technological means during the upcoming season. For now he has agreed to answer some questions. His answers are below.

Zoneblitz: With Tomlinson’s tough season last year, how do you rank the top of the draft? Is it Adrian Peterson without question or are there others you could consider with the top pick?

Maggio:  I think that Peterson is the only back that belongs in the discussion for the top pick regardless of scoring system. That said, a strong PPR league could have guys like Matt Forte and Maurice Jones-Drew in the conversation. A touchdown-heavy league gets Michael Turner in the mix. Keeper and dynasty league, depending again on scoring system, could thrust Larry Fitzgerald in the conversation as well. As for Tomlinson, the drop in carries, touchdowns and yards per game each of the last two seasons is worrisome and he’s definitely not in the conversation for a top three pick, but I think he’s got one more season as a No. 1 fantasy back left in him.

Zoneblitz: Speaking of Tomlinson, where do you think he should go?

Maggio:  Well, PPR formats certainly help his value, but the guys in front of him on normal cheat sheets are mostly solid pass-catchers as well so he doesn’t get a bump in terms of where he’s selected. In mock drafts I’ve been in he has gone mostly early in the second round, but I would probably wait until round three or so for a dynasty league draft.

Zoneblitz: What other players at QB, RB, WR/TE do you see as potential under-the-radar guys who could really bust out with big fantasy seasons?

Maggio:  Starting at QB, my under-the-radar guys are Matt Hasselbeck and Carson Palmer. Hasselbeck is by all accounts healthy, now has T.J. Houshmandzadeh to throw to, plus a corps of receivers who should be back to full health. Palmer lost Housh this offseason, but Laveranues Coles, Chris Henry and Jerome Simpson give him plenty of options for his now healthy elbow. I also like Matt Schaub to outperform his general cheat sheet position.

Running backs I like include Marion Barber and Ronnie Brown. Barber is getting knocked a bit because of a timeshare situation, but he was at his best sharing the load with Julius Jones, so should be fresher with Felix Jones helping him out. Brown, meanwhile, should get even more carries this season as the Dolphins phase out the aging Ricky Williams.

The wide receiver position doesn’t have a ton of big sleepers in my book this season, but a couple undervalued guys include Coles and Donnie Avery and Patrick Crayton.

I am not very original at the tight end spot when I say Greg Olsen, who will be catching passes from Jay Cutler in Chicago this season. If you’re looking for someone way down the list, Anthony Fasano is intriguing because of his red zone presence and the fact that he’s in a contract year as his quarterback Chad Pennington.

Zoneblitz: Who do you see at those same positions being potential busts this season?

Maggio:  I think Aaron Rodgers is good, but is getting a little too much preseason hype. Staying in the division, I think Jay Cutler is going to have a tough time adjusting to such a downgrade in targets.

The biggest name I’m worried about at running back is DeAngelo Williams. He’ll still put up respectable numbers, but I think the timeshare with Jonathan Stewart will keep him from repeating anything resembling his second half from a year ago. I also worry about Thomas Jones with the emergence of Leon Washington and the addition of Shonn Greene, not to mention that defenses will force the Jets to pass more due to the quarterback situation.

At wide receiver, I worry about Terrell Owens getting the touches he wants and the production that will result from it. I also think DeSean Jackson will have trouble taking the expected next step forward if Jeremy Maclin can adjust to the NFL speed right away.

My tight end bust is Visanthe Shiancoe, who I think will suffer from Percy Harvin’s addition in the running and passing game.

Zoneblitz: Last year Paul Charchian explained to Zoneblitz readers his “Do the Opposite” strategy. Do you buy into that or are you more of a traditional running back-running back drafter in early rounds, and why?

Maggio:  It honestly depends on the year. The thought process behind the strategy is solid, but it all depends on how many teams are in the league and how I set up my tiers. I won’t think twice about going receiver/receiver or receiver/quarterback in the first two rounds if I feel like the crop of running backs who will be available later will be useful, but if I believe in a running back a little lower on the totem pole who I don’t think will get back to me and the scoring system doesn’t dictate me going with another position, I don’t consider it a bad move to take that runner.

Zoneblitz: In most reasonably standard scoring formats when would be an appropriate time to look at drafting a wideout like Larry Fitzgerald?

Maggio:  In a PPR dynasty league, you can make a strong case for him being the first overall pick. In standard formats, he is a steal at the end of the first round of 12-team leagues and should probably be considered starting around pick No. 6

Zoneblitz: Are there any rookies you think can have an immediate fantasy impact?

Maggio:  I think a few of the rookie running backs, namely Chris Wells, Knowshon Moreno and LeSean McCoy will make some noise. I’m not as high on Michael Crabtree as some, but still think he’ll be useful this season. In deeper leagues, guys like Maclin, Percy Harvin and Brian Robiskie should also chip in.

Zoneblitz: Last year guys like DeAngelo Williams and LenDale White shined despite running-back-by-committee situations: Do you see Williams and White continuing to be strong plays or will second-year guys like Chris Johnson and Jonathan Stewart steal their thunder?

Maggio:  I expect Johnson to be the better fantasy producer between him and White. LenDale will still get the call at the stripe, but I’d always lean toward the playmaker who will get more touches. I still think that Williams outperforms Stewart this year, but Stewart should be healthier and earn more carries.

Zoneblitz: Perennial top wideouts like Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt and Terrell Owens have either moved on or moved out. Are any of them still valuable this year? And if not, Who replaces them as top WRs in fantasy drafts?

Maggio:  Harrison could be draftable depending on if/where he signs, and Holt should find his way onto rosters as a No. 3 or 4 WR. Owens I think is valuable as a No. 2, but I’d be slightly concerned with him as a No. 1. The top tier of wideouts includes Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson and Randy Moss. I like Moss the most in touchdown heavy leagues, but everywhere else I think its Fitzgerald, Andre, Moss and Calvin, in that order.

Zoneblitz: Do you have a pre-season Super Bowl pick?

Maggio:  If I were putting money down on it in Vegas, I’d probably bet the minimum on San Diego vs. New York Giants. Other teams I like include the Patriots, Ravens and Steelers in the AFC and the Falcons, Cardinals and Eagles in the NFC.

A caller to KFAN Radio this morning told hosts Paul Allen and Paul Charchian that a friend of his in the south had an order for 50,000 purple Brett Favre jerseys.

Okay, it would be preposterous to assume that the Vikings are officially signing Favre based on the musings of a guy who may or may not have a friend in the south who knows anything about pending jersey orders.

But the combination of that coupled with a Pioneer Press report that Favre has put a deposit down on a condo in suburban Edina and another from WCCO.com indicating that a contract has already been signed contingent upon Favre’s arm being alright are enough of an indication that it’s likely that this transaction has more like a 95/5 chance of happening than a 50/50 chance.

So someone should look at the fantasy football ramifications of this potential deal. First, not that you can help Adrian Peterson’s draft status much – he’s number one on most lists and top two in almost all projections. But Favre, even with not much left in the tank, has to be taken more seriously than teams have taken Tarvaris Jackson in the passing game.

So anyone who weirdly didn’t have Peterson in the top two should definitely make that change now.

Even with the substandard-to-average quarterback play last season, tight end Vicente Shiancoe started looking like a legitimate threat in the passing game during the second half of last season as well. Favre has always liked tight ends, from Mark Chmura to Bubba Franks to last season when he started turning rookie Dustin Kellar into a legitimate threat. So Shiancoe has the potential to gain some status under Favre’s watch as well.

The Vikings lack an elite receiver. But they have a plethora of solid guys with potential. I don’t think Favre has the arm left to be winging Hail Mary’s like he used to. But guys like Percy Harvin and Bernard Berrian would have been on draft lists anyway and Favre’s ability to read defenses and almost will spectacular things to happen from time to time will likely make people consider those deep threats a little higher.

I really like Sidney Rice this season. He’s struggled to stay healthy. But he’s big and has had some success as a goal line threat. Favre has a history of spreading the ball around, as well, so it’s not at all unlikely that Rice’s numbers could rise the most dramatically of the quartet of receivers (Bobby Wade being the fourth) I expect to see playing the most.

Now, what about Favre himself? While he opens up opportunities for the others around him, this is still going to be a run-first team. If this team runs as it should, Favre will be a supplementary player and Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor will be the main weapons on this offense. Favre will make the passing game more legitimate, but if the team puts games in Favre’s hands often, they’ll suffer rather than succeed.

So I’d stay away from him as a fantasy starter. If you need a bye week fill in and the Vikings have a good matchup, Favre might be a good fill-in. But he’s not a guy I would rely upon to take your team to fantasy glory.

The Associated Press is reporting that Yahoo! settled the suit it filed against the NFL Players Association over licensing fees for player stats for fantasy football purposes last month.

A previous licensing agreement had expired in March of this year, and the NFLPA has argued in the past that such information is proprietary–but a similar suit brought last year was decided in favor of CBS  Interactive, although the NFLPA is appealing that decision.

In the mean time, Yahoo! apparently has decided that the licensing fees would cost less than the legal fees–and the NFLPA apparently has decided that they should take what they can get now, rather than possibly miss out on it all down the road.

Every fantasy league seems to have one–the owner that doesn’t prepare, drafts his team (or maybe let’s the computer do it), and then checks out as soon as the team hits the loss column in week 1.  Injuries pile up, bye weeks come and go, and their lineup never changes.  It’s all fine and good when you face him, but when a couple teams get the advantage of playing the dead team twice–maybe once with a playoff spot on the line late in the season–that’s when it really sucks.  I mean REALLY sucks.

That’s where Mission Competition comes in.

Mission Competition is a service that provides leagues with dead teams an option to re-level the playing field, with an army of fantasy enthusiasts who can assume coaching duties for dead teams, as well as several computer programs that allow us to automate the process with certain league manager sites.

Founder Robert Levens, who launched the June 18th, said that he is also in talks with several league-management sites and high-stakes fantasy outlets about potential partnerships, and that his company is already affiliated with the World Championship of Fantasy Football–although I would like to think that in the case of high stakes games, that owners are less likely to drop out.

At the same, the service, which costs $12.99, probably doesn’t make a lot of sense for free leagues or a league of friends each throwing in $10 as an entry fee, meaning the company is probably starting with a smaller potential audience of leagues that start with entry fees of $50 to maybe a couple hundred dollars.

Still, with my fantasy experience, I can imagine that Mission Competition could be a highly successful venture–especially if the service proves to provide competitive solutions for leagues with deadbeat owners.

BALTIMORE (Zoneblitz) – I’m in Baltimore at a conference for my day job for the next few days. During a short jaunt for lunch I wandered into one of the large bookstore chains and came across the first football annual magazines.

I rarely buy Athlon anymore. It used to be one of my “must buy” publications, mostly because it came out first. The magazine still has some good content, but it comes out just a little bit too early for my tastes. It feels a little bit like they sacrifice quality and current information for being the first major publication out after the NFL draft. Nonetheless, if you are hungering for information on the season ahead, they as always are among the first ones out.

One I do buy every year is Lindy’s Pro Football. I like the way they analyze every single player on every team’s roster and I love the several pages of draft coverage that typically include best picks and biggest leaps for each team.

The pro version isn’t due out for a few days yet but the college preview is on the rack.

I ended up making two purchases.The first was the jointly published annual by Yahoo! Sports and Pro Football Weekly, which teamed up to produce a solid preview of the real football season coupled with a sizable section of fantasy information. They’ve got a nice ranking of players by position as well as analysis by so-called fantasy football experts from each publication.

Sporting News Fantasy Football ’09 is also on the rack. My second purchase includes a mock, 12-team draft conducted by various Sporting News contributors and staff.

My initial reaction to at least the first round of the mock draft is lukewarm. I liked the top four picks, but after that I think there are some reaches. What do you think?

1. Adrian Peterson
2. Matt Forte
3. Michael Turner
4. Maurice Jones-Drew
5. Steven Jackson
6. Brandon Jacobs
7. DeAngelo Williams
8. Brian Westbrook
9. Frank Gore
10. LaDainian Tomlinson
11. Larry Fitzgerald
12. Drew Brees

Anyway, we’ll have more analysis and thoughts on some of the publications as they come out en masse. In the meantime, who would you put in your top 10 or 12 fantasy picks for the 09 season? Do you agree with the experts from above? Or do you have different thoughts?

Yahoo Inc. has filed suit in Minnesota alleging that the NFL Players Association has no right to charge for player pictures, biographies and statistics used to drive its fantasy football games.

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the NFLPA has argued in the past that such information is proprietary.

This isn’t the first time the issue has arisen. CBS Interactive and NFL Players have been fighting over the issue in court since September 2008. CBS filed suit in Minnesota while NFL Players filed a countersuit in Miami a week later.

Richard Berthelsen, acting chairman of the NFLPA at the time, said in a September 2008 press release announcing the lawsuit that “It is just wrong for companies to use the rights of NFL players to generate revenues for their own benefit without any compensation to the players. NFL PLAYERS will take all steps necessary to protect its rights, and the rights of NFL players generally.”

Last year CBSSports.com announced that it would proceed with a college fantasy football offering after Major League Baseball Advanced Media lost a suit in which it claimed ownership of statistics generated by baseball players.

The U.S. Supreme Court in June refused to hear its appeal.