Your inbox approves Men's coaches poll Women's coaches poll Play to win 25K!
FANTASY
Texas Rangers

Out of baseball comes charitable fantasy football idea

Bob Nightengale
USA TODAY Sports
A Texas Rangers official came up with an idea for how to make a real difference with fantasy football.

It's that time of year again that has every major-league baseball player and executive salivating.

Nah, we're not talking about pennant races.

We're talking about fantasy football.

The fantasy football craze has reached such an extreme that managers actually impose rules that players are not permitted to run into their clubhouses on Sunday during their games to sneak peeks of their fantasy football scores.

Yet, while the fantasy football leagues are mostly all about bragging rights, there is money involved, and Texas Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine and his college buddy, John Ellis, came up with a brilliant brainstorm.

Why not use a portion of the fantasy football league fees to contribute to charities, particularly with more than 40 million people spending $2 billion in fantasy leagues?

Levine helped launch a website called Meaningful Wins allowing people to convert their league entry fees into charitable contributions. The way Levine figures it, if just 1% of the money spent on fantasy sports is donated to charities, they can raise $20 million.

Yes, your fantasy league suddenly becomes an IRS write-off, with money going to such groups as Doctors Without Borders, The Children's Miracle Network, Malaria No More, Operation Smile, Candle Lighters and The Environmental Defense Fund.

"These guys go nuts preparing for their fantasy drafts,'' Levine says, "and now there's more of an opportunity to drive money to their causes. When you play, we send you a tax receipt, so you're playing for a tax write-off.

"As [former pitcher] Pete Harnisch joked, 'Now I can get my wife off back. She can't get mad at me spending eight hours Sunday watching football since I'm actually doing it for charities.'

"It's a weird Halo effect.''

Who knows, it could even change the strategy of NFL players, Levine says. He discussed his charitable cause with Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who's still a member of the Rangers' minor-league system.

"Russell Wilson says he always gets comments on Monday mornings from fantasy players like, 'When I get to the fourth quarter with the lead, why do I take a knee in the red zone,''' Levine says. "He said, 'Well, if you're playing for a cause, maybe I won't take that knee, I'll punch it through the end zone.'''

The Rangers' front office already has made their stake into fantasy football, with GM Jon Daniels even establishing a ring of honor for those who win the annual fantasy football championship.

"He formed it the year he won it [2010],'' Levine says, "and he hasn't finished in the top five since. That was the year Michael Vick went through the roof for the Eagles, and he picked him up on the waiver wire.

"It might have been his most brilliant move after the [Mark] Teixeira trade.''

The Teixeira trade may have helped the Rangers win two American League pennants, but considering the Vick acquisition helped Daniels win a fantasy title, you can be assured which title created more bragging rights.

Yep, nothing like fantasy football to get those competitive juices flowing, and now, it's for a good cause, too.

Featured Weekly Ad