THE FANTASY BLACK BOOK
As a Fantasy Football Analyst and Bestselling Author, Joe Pisapia has an undeniable passion for fantasy sports. Fantasy is how he consumes sports and in today’s fantasy sports obsessed world, he is not alone. For Joe, fantasy sports are experienced as a personal mini-drama that plays out every week and keeps friends, family, and colleagues together in a community. He loves the interactions, the challenge, and helping others reach the pinnacle of their fantasy leagues by taking home the championship hardware. Concerning himself with the fantasy success of his readers, followers, and consumers of his content above his own success is something that he takes great pride in as an analyst.
Joe Pisapia’s book, The Fantasy Black Book, has hit #1 in “Football Books” on Amazon every summer for the past four years and held that spot for over a month in 2019. As an independent brand with no major backing, its success is founded in the value it brings to consumers. The Fantasy Black Book is now considered by many as the secret weapon in fantasy sports. Joe believes that in an era of fantasy sports where fantasy consumers are more intelligent, informed, and being spoon-fed information at a much higher volume than in the past, the Fantasy Black Book offers specific league style strategies based on Relative Position Value (RPV). According to Joe, RPV is quantified rankings and tier based on a hybrid of projections, stats from previous seasons and 3-year averages when applicable. RPV is adaptable, applicable, and easy to use not just in drafts, but throughout the entire season.
I recently asked Joe why the Fantasy Black Book was created. He replied, “The Black Book was created to give readers tangible strategies for all of their leagues, regardless of format, style or league depth. A player’s value is dictated by format more than the player’s talent alone.” He went on to explain, “There was a void in the space for something useful. Everyone does rankings and lists. But while a well-informed opinion is great, it’s not a strategy. Where do the tiers drop off? By how much? Which positions are scarcer than others depending on roster specification in your league? RPV will tell you all of that. Fantasy is simple. It’s about me out producing you from as many spots in my roster as possible. If I can do that consistently, then I will have success. It’s about building roster strength, not filling roster spots.” Delivering this game changing perspective centered around Relative Position Value has made The Fantasy Black Book quite a success.
Annually, The Fantasy Black Book brings some of the best minds in fantasy football together for this collaborative piece of work. Previous editions have included Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association (FSGA) and Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) award winning writers such as Jake Ciely (The Athletic) and Gary Davenport (Bleacher Report, Fantasy Sharks). In 2020 the assortment of contributors is absolutely incredible. The list consists of Mike Tagliere (Fantasy Pros), Bobby Sylvester (Fantasy Pros), Matt Franciscovich (EA Sports), Adam Ronis (SXM Fantasy, Fantasy Alarm), Chris Meaney (FTN), Nate Hamilton (Dominate Fantasy Football), Derek Brown (FTN), Kate Magdziuk (BallBlast Football), Chris McConnell (FSA), Mike Randle (Action Network), Tim Heaney (Rotoballer), Eliot Crist (FTN), Scott Bogman (In This League) and more…
In addition to the publication, the podcast, The Fantasy Black Book Show, has a tremendous following of its own. The podcast features Joe Pisapia, Chris Welsh, and Scott Bogman. According to Joe, “The podcast is about as informative as anything out there, but way more entertaining and fun!” They truly have a great time with the show which has provided another excellent platform to deliver content for fantasy consumers. Chris Welsh and Scott Bogman also have their own podcast that covers fantasy football, baseball, basketball, & more that is called, In This League.
Joe Pisapia and the entire collection of writers for 2020’s version of The Fantasy Football Black Book have truly put together a guide for the upcoming fantasy football season that is special. This type of project is very time consuming and requires a significant amount of dedication to pull off successfully. Once again, Joe has come through in a big way and there is no doubt in my mind that many fantasy football championships will be won in 2020 due to this publication and the efforts that this fantasy super team has made.
Fantasy Football preparations for the upcoming season have begun so make sure to get your copy of The Fantasy Black Book right away! It is available now on Amazon for paperback and kindle versions. The book is produced annually for the NFL (also MLB, NHL and NBA in 2020). In addition to The Fantasy Black Book and the The Fantasy Black Book Show, you can also find Joe Pisapia on Sports Grid hosting NFL fantasy TV programming every Sunday as well as the LineStar DFS PreSnap Podcast.
