Photo: Kirby Lee, USA Today Sports

Hi Folks,

I've always tried to run this thing being as upfront as I can with you. This is one of those times where I'm doing that, and I've got some bad news.

@GregAmbrosius of the NFFC and I made the decision today to cancel the Footballguys Championship Contest.

Everyone who purchased a team will be fully refunded.

The reason is we simply were not getting the traction we felt we needed by this time.

It's certainly early, but the repercussions of going into mid or late July while lagging were too much to risk. We can cancel the contest now, fully refund folks and more easily move forward. It's the right thing to do for our customers and honor their trust. And I think it's the right thing to do for Footballguys.

A few points:

Canceling now is embarrassing for me. And will surely give detractors something to crow about. It is what it is.

Our relationship with NFFC is as strong as ever. In fact, my friendship with Greg made this possible. It was Greg's concern that prompted this. I appreciate his concern for us in this and his guidance.

We'll continue to work closely with NFFC in all areas. This particular project may have failed, but the relationship with NFFC is strong, and I believe will continue to be beneficial. I couldn't more strongly recommend the NFFC contests; they're hands down the places to play mid- and high-stakes fantasy football, in my opinion. The Rotowire $350 entry fee contest is very similar to the Footballguys Championship, and for anyone considering a mid-stakes contest, that's where I'd play. And for higher stakes contests, their Primetime event is awesome. It's the best place to play for High Stakes, in my opinion.

Failure happens sometimes. I think one of the key questions in life is finding that balance between knowing when it's time to pivot and move to something else vs. when it's time to keep pushing forward when it's difficult. This is one of those times. It's the old Kenny Rogers, "You have to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em." I don't know that I'm right, of course. But I feel at peace with this, and it feels like the right thing.

Mostly it's about using resources wisely. I'm convinced we have the best Staff in Fantasy Sports. They're awesome. We have a strong business that allows us to do many things. We have momentum, a track record, and a large and loyal customer base. We're blessed with resources. BUT, they are finite. We all have only so much time and energy. One of my most important jobs is helping us focus those resources on the most productive things. And it just increasingly felt like the cost of the effort needed to make the contest successful wasn't worth the benefit.

So that's where we are. I'm bummed and, as I said, a bit embarrassed. I don't enjoy giving people who said I"d fail at this the opportunity to be right. But that's of zero weight and has none of my attention.

My focus is on our core business of providing our customers with killer fantasy football information and helping them win their league. And selling a ton of premium subscriptions. And that's what I want our focus to be.

Like most things, it all comes back to the Godfather. This is business, not personal. I have to take my ego and pride completely out of the equation.

I apologize if this causes you any inconvenience. And we'll work as hard as we possibly can to bring you value this season.

J