Three Florida football players are drafted within the first two rounds by Ultimate Franchise Fantasy Sports teams

Scouts eye Monsignor Pace’s Shemar Smith, Lakeland’s Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy and IMG’s Jaleel Skinner for their present and future value; Everything you need to now about UFFS

The dream of every athlete with professional aspirations, regardless of the sport, is to hear their name called on draft day.

Recently, two Florida football stars – Monsignor Pace’s Shemar Smith and IMG Academy’s Jaleel Skinner – were first round draft picks, while Lakeland’s Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy was selected in the second round.

The three, all headed to major college football programs, were not drafted into the NFL, or even the USFL or CFL. They were selected by teams in the Ultimate College Fantasy Football League (UCFFL), part of Ultimate Franchise Fantasy Sports (UFFS), the closest thing to real-life sports management you can find. If you’ve ever wanted to be a scout, general manager, or own a professional sports team, you can do it with UFFS.

Recent IMG Acadmey star Jaleel Skinner was a first round draft pick in the UAFL / Photo by 247Sports

Smith and Brownlow-Dindy are both headed to Texas A&M and are the two highest rated players in Florida in the Class of 2022. Skinner, on his way to the University of Miami, is ranked 15th in the class.

It’s not only football, the UFFS has leagues for every major sport, and you can even work with multiple franchises across different sports within the platform. The platform has player drafts, free agency, and trades that are often made more frequently than in the real world. You can be an independent scout or work for a scouting agency. It’s all up to you and the level of involvement you want to have.

The teams and or scouts which drafted the three Florida players can register their rights for a fee. If the player is successful and ultimately moves on to the NFL, their value goes up. Scouts can then sell the rights to the player to another scout or a franchise.

UFFS - The Beginning

UFFS is the closest thing to real-life sports management you can find. If you’ve ever wanted to be a scout, general manager (GM), or own a professional sports team, you can do it with UFFS.

The platform covers every major sport, and you can even work with multiple franchises across different sports within the platform. The platform has player drafts, free agency, and trades that are often made more frequently than in the real world. You can be an independent scout or work for a scouting agency. It’s all up to you and the level of involvement you want to have.

UFFS was created as a tech start-up by 10 founders from Western Canada who got into crypto as passionate sports fans and were inspired by a project called Crypto Kitties, which was an NFT before NFTs were “a thing.”

Think of Crypto Kitties as digital Chia Pets. They can grow fur and be raised as a Chia Pet would except in digital form, and the breeding game of sorts became an online sensation, with some of the Crypto Kitties selling for six figures at their peak. The UFFS founders applied that concept to the sporting world and expanded it to fantasy leagues that add utility and longevity to digital assets — now widely known as NFTs (non-fungible tokens).

In Sept. 2019, the founders from Western Canada — headed up by Tony Charanduk — launched UFFS. A couple of months later, they held their first “mock draft,” and the first official league — the Ultimate Fantasy Hockey League (UFHL) — launched in Jan. 2020, with the franchise auction at Wendel Clark’s restaurant in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. UFFS sold 17 of 31 franchises at that event, averaging $200, with the buyers bidding for the rights to select their franchise players.

The Connor McDavid franchise, the Yetis, was the highest seller at $400.

That was followed by the inaugural draft on Jan. 19, 2020, with gameplay running from Jan. 20 through March 12, when the NHL season was halted due to COVID. The remaining 14 franchises were sold between February and July 2020, with those new owners participating in a redraft on July 18, 2020, to form the full 31-team league.

“UFFS is the future of fantasy,” said co-founder Tony Charanduk. “We’re bringing fantasy sports to the blockchain with NFT gameplay and rewarding athletes for their stats. We’ve got daily fantasy coming soon to complement our fully branded professional fantasy leagues that mirror the real world 1-to-1 for the four major North American sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL), with more to come. Every sport at every level is the goal and the vision!”

3 Years In

Three years in for UFFS, things are looking good. Franchises that were initially sold for $200 are now worth $50,000 to $100,000. They have real-world athletes involved as well—athletes such as pro-hockey players Brad and Ryan Malone, who bought the Dynasty franchise for $75,000. They have their family crest in the team logo.

There’s also the Conacher family. Cory is a former Tampa Bay Lightning player who played in the Swiss-A league last season, and his brother Shane is also a former pro. Ryan Schmelzer, captain of the New Jersey Devils’ minor league affiliate Utica Comets, is their GM for the UFHL’s Gators. They purchased the franchise for a record-setting $80,000 in Dec. 2021.

Another example is former NHL scout, GM, and current TSN analyst Craig Button. He’s a GM in the innovative UFWJ (Ultimate Fantasy World Juniors) and also serves as the head scout for a UFHL franchise. The WJC tournament usually runs from Christmas Day through the first week of January. However, due to COVID restrictions, the original 2022 tournament was halted after three days of play. It will now be played (for this year only) from Aug. 9-20 at Rogers Place Arena in Edmonton, AB.

“This is as close to owning or managing a professional franchise as you’ll come in the fantasy world,” said head of sport operations Larry Fisher. “UFFS leagues offer the most realistic experience with plenty of innovation, cutting-edge technology and high stakes. The vision is for the franchises to be owned by wealthy individuals or groups, employing the world’s best fantasy players among full-time staffs — somewhat similar to eSports. With the 1-to-1 scarcity, these franchises and gameplay roles will be coveted and competitive in the world’s best fantasy leagues.”

Breaking Down the UFHL

The UFHL currently has 32 teams. Since the NHL added the Seattle Kraken, the UFHL followed suit and added an expansion team. The Bentley Jacks were purchased for $10,000 on March 1, 2021. They are the UFHL’s version of the Seattle Kraken. Franchises have owners and GMs from all over the world, from Alberta to Newfoundland and Oklahoma to Italy. The UFHL is made up of two conferences and four divisions.

Allan Conference

Gretzky Division

Battlehawks

CanWest Generals

Godfathers

Grizzlies

Monarchs

Norse Stars

Red Army

Stallions

Lemieux Division

Blades of Steel

Blizzard

Crypto Knights

Eliminators

Ice Vikings

Stingrays

Warriors

Yetis

Legends Conference

Orr Division

Assassins

Brutes

Duckman’s Domination

Kamikaze

Rock Republic

Snipers

Strong Island HC

Titans

Howe Division

Bentley Jacks

Dynasty

Gators

Mystics

Outlaws

Royals

Tornadoes

West Coast Express

Each team has an NHL franchise (UFHL) and minor league franchise (UFAHL) that they send players down to or call them up from, just as an NHL franchise would. Most teams have a GM, an Assistant GM, and affiliated scouts. Some even employ capologists and marketing directors. They follow the same salary cap as the NHL as well.

Chericce Schulz - Owner/Investor, Crypto Knights in the UFHL & Rumrunners in Ultimate Fantasy League Baseball (UFLB) says, “As an original team buyer in the UFHL from 2020, I have thoroughly enjoyed the last three seasons of being involved with the UFFS platform. It is for the serious, high-stakes fantasy player. It also perfectly blends with the crypto world, having utility NFTs be a part of the game.”

Ms. Schulz also said, “Any opportunity to get involved with the UFFS always brings out the passion of each individual for the game. The unique design gives you the opportunity to actually own the game. It is the next level of fantasy sports entertainment.”

Scouting

UFFS and the UFHL launched fantasy scouting in Aug. 2020. Registered scouts can either bid on and draft players, register them on the open market, or acquire their rights from another scout. Franchises can purchase the rights of players from scouts also. The scout’s register players on the blockchain as NFTs.

Arlo Schulz, owner of the UFFS scouting agency Prestige Worldwide Sports & Entertainment, says, “Scouting is a critical part of the engine that drives Prestige Worldwide Sports & Entertainment. Since its beginning in 2020, Prestige has expanded to a staff of six regional scouts spanning hockey and baseball, each with extensive experience as a player, coach or scout at various levels of the game.”

Schulz continued, “With the rules structure of the UFFS platform, franchises hoping to be competitive must develop their own feeder systems. There is no viable alternative to building a powerhouse other than perhaps outspending the competition. Prestige has already invested thousands in tomorrow’s brightest young stars. In each of the three UFHL Entry Auctions that have taken place so far, Prestige saw multiple prospects drafted in the first round — a testament to the expertise of our scouts. The agency plans to expand to cover more regions in hockey and baseball in the coming years.”

Rules & Scoring System

The UFHL gameplay is hosted on Fantrax. The complete rules and scoring system can be found here.

Klein Cup Playoffs

The Klein Cup Playoffs are the UFHL’s version of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, mirroring the same format in a way. Alongside the NHL, by implementing an innovative leasing system where UFHL playoff franchises lease players from non-playoff franchises through the UFHL Playoff Draft — which is more like (Major League Baseball) filling their empty spots late in the season, during the playoffs, or having a roster that didn’t necessarily exist throughout the regular season, to replace players that missed the (NHL) playoffs.

However, with the UFHL, it works succinctly. The platform keeps everyone engaged through revenue sharing, with leased players earning payouts based on their percentage of fantasy points contributed to franchises that advance in the UFHL playoffs.

Every year, just like the Stanley Cup, the winners get to keep the trophy over the summer. The inaugural Klein Cup champion was the Monarchs in 2020, formerly owned by Ashley Murray — the daughter-in-law of Tampa Bay Lightning assistant GM and director of player personnel Al Murray, who also celebrated his first Stanley Cup championship that year. The Monarchs are now owned by Joe Bauman, and their GM is George Bachul.

Last year, Red Army were the victors and this past season, Rock Republic took home the Klein Cup. The Red Army owner sold the franchise shortly after they won for $75,000. Red Army also traded 13 players from their championship roster, receiving an additional $25,000 of SCO through those deals to cash out $100,000. That took place in July 2021, while the Monarchs sold for $1,500 in October 2020 — an incredible valuation increase over the span of nine months for the UFHL champions!

Rumor is that Rock Republic’s Kyle Roberts and David Brown will be drinking out of the Klein Cup at an upcoming wedding reception in Newfoundland. Another awesome feature of the UFHL is that the Klein Cup gets engraved with everyone’s names, just like Lord Stanley’s Cup! Rock Republic isn’t planning to continue that trend of going out on top and selling their franchise this offseason — like the two previous playoff champions in UFHL history.

Awards

Yzerman Sakic Trophy

Conn Smythe/Playoff MVP – most fantasy points during Klein Cup Playoffs

Wayne Gretzky Trophy

Hart/Season MVP – franchises submit a list of 5, and the player that appears on most lists is the winner (if there is a tie, franchises vote)

Mario Lemieux Trophy

Art Ross/Season Top Scorer (Point Getter) – most fantasy points during UFHL regular season

Brett Hull Trophy

Rocket Richard/Most Goals – player with the most fantasy points from goals

Teemu Selanne Trophy

Calder/Top Rookie – most fantasy points by a rookie

Nicklas Lidstrom Trophy

Norris/Top D – most fantasy points by a defenseman

Dominik Hasek Trophy

Vezina/Top G – most fantasy points by a goaltender

Bower Sawchuk Trophy

Jennings/Top G Tandem – most fantasy points by goaltending tandem (top 2 goaltenders combined)

Chris Pronger Trophy

Top Defensive D – most fantasy points by a defenseman from a combination of blocks, takeaways, +/-

The Hammer Award

Top Enforcer – most fantasy points from a combination of hits, fights, PIMs

PuckPedia GM of the Year Award

Top GM – franchises submit their choice; the most votes wins

Maplewood Social Media Award

The franchise that best utilizes social media for promotion/engagement (chosen by the Competition Committee)

The winner will be gifted a jersey made by Maplewood Hockey

First & Second Team All-Stars

6 F, 4 D, 2 G with most fantasy points during UFHL regular season

All-Rookie Team

3 F, 2 D, 1 G with the most fantasy points among rookies during UFHL regular season

Total: 29 x $5 = $145 from prize pool

For each award winner, the franchise will receive $5 in SCO – EXCEPT for the Maplewood Social Media Award

UFHL All-Star Game Award Winners

Legends Conference defeated Allan Conference 18-9 (Legends players & honorary coach receive $5 in SCO)

Prize Pool

UFFS and the UFHL are set up for owners, GMs and scouts to earn revenue if they make the right moves.

The prize pool is progressive and continues to accumulate throughout each season. The Founders’ Trophy winner, which was the Royals (Tieran Charanduk-owner/Arnie Erntz-GM) last season, is the equivalent of the Presidents’ Trophy in the NHL and earns the most prize money. The Founders’ and Presidents’ Trophies are given to the team with the most points throughout the regular season.

Winners of the seasonal and playoff awards mentioned above also earn a payout, as does each playoff team. The further they advance, the more the owner and staff get paid. Also, like the NHL, there are weekly and monthly 3-Star selections, Rookie of the Month, First-Team and Second-Team All-Stars, and All-Rookie Team — those also come with a payday.

Dan Nadeau, GM of the Crypto Knights, says, “My first year in the UFHL was a learning experience for sure! Seeing just how passionate people are about their franchises and players on them was amazing! I’m excited for year 2 with the Crypto Knights and the team we are building not only on the ice but off the ice by hiring an Assistant GM! I encourage anyone reading this to look into the UFHL and learn about it! It truly is the closest thing to working as a GM in the NHL as it gets!”

UFFS – Score Token

Score Coin (SCO) is the official currency of the Ultimate Franchise Fantasy Sports (UFFS) platform. SCO is the utility token for the means of transaction and a store of value for everything that happens in the UFFS world.

Other Sports in UFFS

Next to hockey, the biggest UFFS league is the Ultimate Fantasy American Football League (UFAFL), which mirrors the NFL with 32 franchises, 53-man rosters and an innovative scoring system that provides value for every player — even offensive linemen!

Other UFFS Leagues

UFFS also has leagues like the UCFFL, Major League Baseball (UFLB) and the NBA (UFBA). A World Junior Championship league (UFWJ) represents the Under-20 hockey tournament that takes place every year. On top of that, they have a women’s professional basketball league (UFWBA) as the first women’s sport on the UFFS platform, plus a Legends League (AFLL).

Digital Athletes

UFFS is partnered with the likes of EliteProspects, InStat, PuckPedia and DobberHockey, as well as the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA). UFFS has been signing digital athletes, with more than 40 joining the UFFS team across four major North American sports: hockey, football, baseball and basketball.

That roster includes NFL Legends Cris Carter and Michael Vick, CFL Hall of Famers Nik Lewis and Damon Allen, world champion boxer Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford, former NBA All-Star Micheal’ Sugar’ Ray Richardson, World Series champion and Gold Glove winner Ian Kinsler.

Plus NHLers Ethan Bear of the Carolina Hurricanes, Braden Schneider of the New York Rangers, Karson Kuhlman of the Seattle Kraken, Brad Malone of the Edmonton Oilers, and Zac Fucale of the Washington Capitals, along with retired NHLers Ryan Malone and Dave’ The Hammer’ Schultz, among many others.

What’s in the Future for UFFS?

The UFFS has already built a pretty big stable in three short years. They’ve grown immensely and look to expand more soon. Future new additions to UFFS are as such:

• Daily Fantasy
• Soccer
• Golf
• Horse Racing
• Women’s Sports

“UFFS will be the best of the best at the professional level,” said Fisher, “but will also offer opportunities to develop at minor, junior, college and semi-pro levels, along with the scouting role that is unique to fantasy—giving aspiring scouts the ability to monetize their eye for talent on the UFFS platform. Not to mention the daily fantasy element that opens the door to mass adoption in becoming mainstream. Exciting times ahead!”

With today’s climate of fantasy sports and DFS/Gambling, it seems like this platform could skyrocket; and as the fantasy sports world is becoming more and more like real life, UFFS appears to be in the right place at the right time. But the main fact is they have a solid backbone, and they have the talent, resources, and the right platform to have long-term success. You can take a look at the UFFS platform here.