'NFL PLAYERS Helmets Off' TV Series Kicks Off Season Five With 'NFL PLAYERS Helmets Off: Fantasy Football Draft' to Air Throughout October on FSN

'NFL PLAYERS Helmets Off' TV Series Kicks Off Season Five With 'NFL PLAYERS Helmets Off: Fantasy Football Draft' to Air Throughout October on FSN

Five-show series goes behind the scenes with the stars of the NFL

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- NFL PLAYERS, the licensing and marketing subsidiary of the NFL Players Association is proud to announce the return of "NFL PLAYERS Helmets Off," a series of reality television shows featuring some of the most talented stars in the National Football League. Back for a fifth spectacular season, the series kicks off with "NFL PLAYERS Helmets Off: Fantasy Football '08," the first of five monthly television specials created and produced by NFL PLAYERS.

"NFL PLAYERS Helmets Off: Fantasy Football '08" makes its national debut Oct. 4 and will be shown on FSN throughout the month. Viewers should check local listings for the broadcast schedule in their area. Sponsored by Electronic Arts and Reebok, the series of half-hour programs gives fans an inside look at the daily lives of NFL players and air on FSN from October through February.

About NFL PLAYERS Fantasy '08:

For the second year, "NFL PLAYERS Helmets Off" will give fans the chance to watch as eight NFL players pick and trade their way through the most exciting fantasy draft in the nation. NFL stars BRIAN BROHM/Green Bay Packers, STEVEN JACKSON/St. Louis Rams, MAURICE JONES-DREW/Jacksonville Jaguars, CATO JUNE/Tampa Bay Buccaneers, JAY FEELY/New York Jets, LARRY FITZGERALD/Arizona Cardinals, WILL WITHERSPOON/St. Louis Rams and TATUM BELL will compete against each other as the eight owners in NFL PLAYERS Fantasy '08. The elite squad navigated through friends and foes in an effort to pull together the best fantasy squad in order to bring home the trophy and the league's top bragging rights.

The live draft was held in June on the roof deck of the Ivy Hotel in San Diego, Calif. Sports commentator and Olympian Summer Sanders kept energy high as commissioner and host, and the 12-round draft included good-natured trash talk, strategic moves and shocking insider selections.

"I was excited," said Maurice Jones-Drew. "There were so many emotions running through my body after the draft. We just can't wait to get out there and start knocking teams off."

The fantasy doesn't end when the credits roll. Throughout the 2008 NFL season, fans can log on to NFLPLAYERS.COM for exclusive player video blogs, message boards and interviews. FOXSports.com will provide real-time roster updates and transactions, league standings and weekly matchups.

NFL PLAYERS Fantasy '08 Preview:

Be an insider as players reveal strategies and experience the dynamics of the draft room as rounds go by and the competition heats up.

In a bold pre-draft declaration, Maurice Jones-Drew promised if he drew the first pick, he would select himself. Did he draw the coveted slip, and if so, did he stay true to his word? Can returning champ Tatum Bell defend his throne? Not if Jay Feely, the other fantasy veteran, has anything to do with it. Feely comes back as the winner of 2007's regular season, and this time he has his eyes on the grand prize.

Last season, in a battle of close friends and former teammates, Bell triumphed, barely holding off Champ Bailey to win the inaugural NFL PLAYERS Fantasy Football League. Despite finishing the regular season below .500 at 6-7, and beginning the season with four straight losses, Bell persevered to prove his football knowledge was a step above his fellow NFL contemporaries.

About NFL PLAYERS:

Formed in 1994, NFL PLAYERS is the licensing and marketing subsidiary of the NFL Players Association. Representing more than 1,800 active and many memorable retired NFL players, NFL PLAYERS "takes the helmets off" the players and markets them as personalities as well as professional athletes. Through an exclusive sponsorship agreement between the organization and the NFL, players are integrated into NFL sponsor activation programs. In addition, under an exclusive agreement between NFL PLAYERS and the NFL, NFLPLAYERS.COM, the company's official Web site is part of the part of the NFL Internet Network. Each year NFL PLAYERS negotiates and facilitates extensive player marketing opportunities for players. NFL PLAYERS activities include retail licensing, corporate sponsorships and promotions, special events, radio and television projects, publishing and internet. For more information, please visit NFLPLAYERS.COM.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: PLAYERS INC

CONTACT: NFL PLAYERS, Lara.Potter@nflplayers.com, +1-202-572-7460, or
Jilane.Rodgers@nflplayers.com, +1-202-572-7504; or FSN, jsimon@foxsports.net,
+1-310-369-5864

Web site: http://www.nflplayers.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment