Matt Berry is the Senior Fantasy Sports Analyst for ESPN. He has won an Emmy, published a best-selling book, and has over 600,000 Twitter followers. His "Fantasy Focus" podcast has won numerous awards.
1. First off, How have you been?
I'm good, brother. Been busy with everything but I really enjoy what I do... So doesn't feel like work. Just took a cruise with the family, recharged and I'm ready for football season.
2. It looks like you have been hard at work with a best selling book and now launching a new version of the RotoPass. What makes this different than what has been in the market the past years?
Thanks for the book plug. Yeah, Fantasy Life is out in paperback with three new chapters and the response to the book has been beyond my dreams. As for you r RotoPass question...Well, it's more a reflection of me. I'm focused on football these days and now so is RotoPass. When I started RotoPass, I was basically unknown in the industry. My career has changed a lot since then and now that I have a track record and name, I'm able to cherry pick the best premium sites in the industry. The sites and people I want to be in business with. The sites I am proud to put my name in front of.
And once I got those sites, I was able to talk them into offering them at over 60% off. It's the best deal on the Internet. Seriously. Not every site - even the really good ones - does everything equally well. But now, you don't have to choose. You get the best of every site you'd want for one crazy low price.
And here's a brief rundown of each of those sites:
I assume you are already familiar with Footballguys.com. But in case anyone reading just signed up for the free mailing list and don't know how awesome you guys are, FBG is run by FSWA Hall of Famer David Dodds and VBD Creator Joe Bryant. The legendary FBG now features over 40 paid professionals. Their customizable, award winning content, tools and draft software are unmatched in the industry. Plus, you get free entry into the $35,000 FBG subscriber only contest.
Rotowire: Lead by industry legends Chris Liss and Jeff Erickson, Rotowire has over 30 different FSWA awards (more than any other site) including many Writer of the Year awards and a FSWA Hall of Famer in Peter Schoenke. Rotowire invented fantasy player news and they provide up-to-the-second player news and analysis 24/7/365. You'll be up to date on every missed practice, injury and change in job status and you can get it however you want. Email, text or read online, it doesn't matter...with Rotowire you're always first to the waiver wire.
ESPN Insider: Expert, exclusive analysis (Bill Polian, Ron Jaworski, Adam Schefter, FSWA Hall of Famer Eric Karabell, many more including me - I'm doing an article for Insider this year), advanced player performance metrics, in-depth scouting, the latest rumors, tools like Insider Recommends and Roster Advisor plus access to the award-winning writing and artistry of ESPN the Magazine. All from the Worldwide Leader in Sports. Learn more here.
Pro Football Focus Fantasy Gold: Looking at fantasy in a completely different way, they've dominated every accuracy challenge due in large part to their exclusive, signature stats including fantasy-points-per-snap, fantasy-points-per-opportunity and average depth of target. A must have if you play daily games, wait until you try their instant Mock Draft Tool. Complete a mock draft in minutes - it's amazing.
RotoViz Apps: Twenty different web based applications that give customized answers with exclusive formulas and unbiased data. Projections by identifying a player's historical comparables, looking for trade targets over specified schedule stretches or weekly projections based on similar matchups are just the start. Again 20 different apps that are unlike anything else in the industry. Game changers.
3. Is the RotoPass for everyone?
Well, just like you wouldn't give the Grandma who only drives to church on Sunday a Lamborghini, not every fantasy football player needs RotoPass. If you're in a casual league with a bunch of people that set their line-up on Friday and then check the scores Monday morning, then this isn't for you.
But if you play in a league where everyone knows what they are doing, where people start discussing next year's draft during the Super Bowl, the second a running back misses practice with a slight hammy issue, his second back-up is snatched up (because his handcuff is already owned)... you just found the answer to your prayers.
FootballGuys costs $30. Six months of Rotowire costs $40. The total value of the RotoPass sites is well over $150 for just football season. And you know why they cost so much? Because they can get it. They're that good.
Combined, all the sites in the RotoPass circle have over 60 years experience in offering professional, paid fantasy analysis. These aren't people doing it for a hobby or in their spare time. The people that own and operate the award winning sites in RotoPass do this for a living.
Think about that. In a world where everyone is offering free advice, rankings and articles, these people offer a product that is so high in quality that people are willing to pay for it. And pay for it in a significant enough way that they don't need to do anything else to make a living. Brag all you want about awards, expert league titles and making your subscribers winners (and we've got that too) but the real proof is in if you offer a good enough value that people want to pay for it. The sites in RotoPass have done just that for a long time. And now, they're finally all available for one low price.
4. This pass looks to be centered around football. What is available in this package that caters to the other sports.
Yes, this is primarily a football website, but subscribers to RotoPass get access to the rankings, news, tools, applications, articles and experts of all other leagues on both Rotowire and ESPN Insider. So if you have a fantasy basketball or fantasy hockey draft to get ready for...or are chasing a pennant in fantasy baseball, Rotowire and ESPN Insider will get you where you need to go with the same customizable rankings, analysis and draft tools they offer for fantasy football.
5. How much would someone pay if they had to purchase these things separately. And it costs less than $60? What's the catch? Are these the full offerings of these products?
The total price of all the RotoPass sites, bought separately, would cost you $162. But with RotoPass you get them for $59.95. A savings of over $100. There's no catch. Everything you would get if you subscribed to the site individually comes with a Rotopass subscription.
6. Can someone even read all of this material in one football season?
Maybe, maybe not. What RotoPass gives you is options. More tools, more analysis, more ranks, more everything. Not every site - even the good ones - do everything well. Even the way they are displayed - people have different opinions on what they like. Now... You don't have to choose. In 30 years of doing fantasy I've never heard someone complain, hey... I want less tools, analysis, ranks, help, options, etc.
Besides, if you don't like to read...we have tons and tons of time saving tools. Both FootballGuys and Rotowire have awesome draft software that is free with subscription. Plus Rotowire's popular Ask an Expert feature allows you to email a real live human expert and get an answer back immediately. Not technically a tool, but super cool regardless.
ESPN Insider has their customizable ranks and auction values, their Insider recommends tool that helps you draft, trade and pick up the right player, their roster advisor is an impartial set of eyes on your team and for those that enjoy gambling, pick center helps sharpen those bets so that RotoPass more than pays for itself.
Pro Football Focus not only has their exclusive, signature stats like fantasy points per opportunity, fantasy points per snap and average depth of target completely sortable but their Mock Draft in Minutes tool is something that has to be tried to be believed. You can do a complete mock draft in under five minutes, giving you many chances to try different theories and strategies.
And of course, RotoViz Apps is nothing BUT tools. Over 20, in fact, ranging from streaming defenses and the Buy Low Machine to similarity scores that can predict future success by trends form the past, the ADP arbitrage to see where the values in draft are and the VBD Baseline Calculator are all must haves.
And if you play daily fantasy, the Daily Line-Up tools from both RotoViz and Pro Football Focus Fantasy are crucial to you bringing home money.
7. OK, I am very close to buying. Close the deal for me.
Look, be it a draft guide, a magazine, a website subscription, a fee for a league management service, your entry fees, even if it's just beer at the draft… you already spend money on fantasy sports. So why not spend it wisely?
Thanks to the exploding popularity of fantasy football, news is all over the place and getting the winning edge, that razor thin margin of advantage is becoming harder and harder. Until now. Because while your competitors may subscribe to one premium website... Or even two… they don't subscribe to 5!
RotoPass offers the best premium fantasy football sites at a discount of over 60%.... Over $100 LESS than what it would cost to buy them all separately! Rotopass works out to 36 cents a day. If your fantasy football success isn't worth 36 cents a day why are you even playing? Why are you even reading?
8. How can I buy?
You can do that here. We accept all major credit cards and we can also do PayPal if you'd like. If you want to use Paypal. If you'd like to use PayPal, send a note to support@rotopass.com and we will tell you how to do it.
9. More info / support contact:
Look, you already know FootballGuys is worth $30. So for an extra $30 you get Rotowire, ESPN Insider, Pro Football Focus Fantasy Gold, and the RotoViz Apps. It's the best deal on the internet. If you have any other questions about RotoPass, shoot us a note.