Source: BroBible
Summary
A TikTok user named Tony Siciliano hired a fantasy football general manager, only to see his team start 0-2. He claims the GM is on the hot seat after benching the entire roster. Siciliano says he paid the GM and is considering firing him. The story was reported by BroBible, which noted the GM’s role in drafting and managing the team. The user said he was traveling during the draft and needed help. The situation has sparked debate online about whether hiring a GM is a legitimate strategy.
Our Reading
The habit gets a new name.
Fantasy football managers are the new hustle.
People pay for someone else to be bad at a game.
It’s not a team—it’s a payroll problem.
Who needs a real GM when you can have a fake one?
A Fantasy Football Manager
In a video with over 88,000 views, TikTok user Tony Siciliano (@tonysillyano) explains that he decided to “change up” his fantasy football approach this season by hiring a general manager.
“I maintain the ownership position, so I pay to buy in, and the GM is gonna get a piece of the pie if we win,” he explains. “This freed up my schedule. Let me watch the little football a little more unbiasedly.”
While this may seem like an OK idea on the surface, Siciliano says it hasn’t been working out for him.
“Now, we have started the season 0 and 2, and it’s looking like we’re gonna end up 0 and 3 after this week,” he says. “Is it too soon to fire a GM that I just hired at the beginning of the season?”
Siciliano says he’s “never been in this position before as an owner of a fantasy football team.”
It Gets Worse
In an update, Siciliano says that they did, in fact, go 0 and 3. But that’s not the only problem.
“We’re going to see what happens in week four,” he says. “The GM did just make a very bold move by benching the entire team, so we’ll see if that rallies up the troops.”
“But, if we get to 0-4, I think I’m going to start the interview process, and it’s going to be a very quick hire,” Siciliano continues. “He’s got one week for this team to rally behind him—see if that mass benching does the trick or not, but I’m not very confident in it.
Uh, Do People Really Hire GMs For Their Fantasy Football Teams?
While the underlying practice may be a thing that actually exists—i.e. people really do hire GMs for their fantasy football teams—it’s unlikely that Siciliano is being 100% honest about something that actually happened. Instead, this is probably just a bit about how far people will go for their fantasy team (and how dumb some of the decisions they make can be).
There are a few obvious clues that this is the case, but if you need just one, “benching the entire team” cannot motivate a fantasy football team because they don’t know you did that and, therefore, cannot be motivated by it. Fantasy football exists only on your phone. It’s not like you bench your QB and Drake Maye gets yet another notification that he needs to get his act together.
Should The Fantasy Football GM Get Fired?
In the comments section, many users pitched the TikToker on their own services. Others simply suggested the best way to encourage the GM to get his act together.
“I’d have a conversation and see what his plan is moving forward. If he has a solid plan, maybe give him 2 more weeks. If not, let him go,” wrote a user.
“Give him an option to resign now or carry out the season. If he can’t make playoffs he owes half the buy in,” offered another.
“Nah man, this is a cut throat business, unfortunately if your payroll isn’t making you money, it doesn’t make sense to have them on payroll,” stated a third.
Author:
Evan Null
