Strategy and lineup tips took a backseat in Week 4, as the daily fantasy football community was rocked by controversy on and off the field. The Calvin Johnson fumble/batted-ball swung large amounts of money, even deciding first place in the DraftKings Millionaire Maker contest. However, for most of us not involved in those late swings, the focus of the DFS world has been on the participation of FanDuel and DraftKings' employees in DFS contests and their use of "insider information."
Quite honestly, I'm sick of the topic, but I want to weigh in because I feel there are a lot of misleading/false statements being made by multiple media outlets. I’m personally blown away that this news is scrolling across the bottom line on ESPN as I compose this article – a testament to how far DFS has come. (If you've been lucky enough to avoid the news and want to catch up, read this article for a quick recap and suggestions by perhaps the best player in the industry.)
DFS SCANDAL: ESPN pulls sponsored segments | Twitter reacts | FanDuel bans employees from DFS | End of DFS?
What's the real issue at the center of the FanDuel and DraftKings controversy?
I want to make three main points:
1. What happened was simply NOT insider trading. Yes, as an industry we need to make sure sensitive info is safeguarded, but insider trading occurs when non-public information specific to a company is acted upon for a financial gain. We have to assume that Ethan Haskell didn't have FanDuel data until after lineup lock, meaning this is not a parallel to insider trading in the stock market. A Coca-Cola executive has insider information on Coke's own sales data, and, while not allowed to trade Coke's own stock during certain periods, he or she can trade the stock of Pepsi based on beverage consumption numbers for the industry. While possibly unethical, this is very legal. ("What qualifications does this maddox2 guy have?", you might be saying right now. Well, I'm fully licensed in the securities industry, which also requires annual training to identify insider trading.)
2. Every industry/company has sensitive data that employees are responsible for safeguarding. Why can't we trust DFS sites like other companies? Banks have admitted to giving out bad loans and contributing to one of the worst financial collapses in U.S. history just seven years ago, yet I'm guessing you're trusting your life saving with a bank right now! Sure, some things need to be tweaked, but the system is not broken. I would suggest an independent accounting firm to handle all data deemed to give players an advantage.
3. While it may be too late, DFS sites must police themselves at a much higher level to ensure the longevity of the industry. Given the NY Attorney General and a Congressional Committee are now looking into DFS, I think the regulations are imminent. There are many people who make their living solely in this industry, and while I’m not one of them, I’d personally go insane without DFS as an outlet in my daily life. Above all else, we can’t forget that this is a hobby many people are passionate about and would do everything to protect. We need to look no further than poker to see how quickly a good thing can vanish.
What's the best lineup strategy for winning big on FanDuel?
Enough with all the negative talk – let’s analyze a winning Week 4 lineup so you can be more prepared to capitalize this Sunday. Generally speaking, I much prefer lower-scoring weeks. Sure you needed Devonta Freeman (who I didn't have) to win a big GPP, but many winning combinations existed surrounding him, keeping all lineups in contention longer. The winning lineup of the FanDuel Sunday Million was:
WEEK 5 DFS: FanDuel tournament lineup | FanDuel cash lineup
Philip Rivers stands out as the clear top QB option and certainly helped separate those who selected him, as he was just 3.5 percent owned. It’s not hard to reverse engineer that play — Cleveland has been terrible all year and was traveling to the West Coast.
Other notable players include Karlos Williams, Martellus Bennett, and Carolina Defense. A 42 percent owned, Williams proves that you don’t have to be contrarian just for the sake of being different, and it's fairly easy to overcome a mediocre game from highly owned player. DeAndre Hopkins continues to produce regardless of his quarterback, and he still remains one of the sneakiest DFS studs on a weekly basis due to lack of ownership.
Pairing a top TE and D/ST was possibly the difference during this low-scoring week. I’d imagine an increasingly popular strategy moving forward will be targeting the defense facing Jameis Winston, as “luckyrau24” did in route to a $1,000,000 payday.
What are the best daily fantasy football contests to enter?
As we do each week, I want to compare payouts from the large GPP’s to a smaller tournament.
If you had more than one entry in the Sunday Million but didn’t enter the $25 single-entry Sunday Sweep, I’d question your choices. The winner of the Sweep scored 148 points and won $6,000. A score of 148 in the Sunday Million would’ve placed 421st and earned $500. There will be plenty of days when you select the “wrong” lineup to enter into the single-entry tournaments, and that’s fine. However, don’t make the mistake of only shooting for the moon in large GPP’s. Mix single-entry and smaller-field contests into your game selection.
Sporting News contributor maddox2 has been playing Daily Fantasy Sports for two years and was a finalist in the 2015 Playboy Basketball Championship. When not tending to his full-time job in Finance, he's grinding DFS all year long in the three major sports. Follow him @maddox2DFS on Twitter.