Robert Griffin III Goes 'Back to School,' Kicking Off New Yahoo College Fantasy Football Campaign

Key Takeaways

• Yahoo Sports is celebrating the launch of Yahoo College Fantasy Football with a new campaign starring Robert Griffin III, the 2011 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback at Baylor.
• In the spot, "Back to School," RGIII believes he's landed a second shot at playing college football, ultimately discovering that his new path back to the game is Yahoo College Fantasy Football.
• The campaign builds on the recent debut of Yahoo College Fantasy Football  and arrives as drafts officially open in the game.

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College football legend and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III is getting a second shot at the sport he loves, this time in a new campaign from Yahoo Sports. The spot arrives as drafts officially open in Yahoo College Fantasy Football, the new season-long fantasy game Yahoo Sports launched earlier this summer.

In the spot, "Back to School," RGIII believes he's landed a second shot at playing college football. Convinced he's secured an offer to play again, RGIII moves back into the dorms, pulls all-nighters studying playbooks, and runs drills like it's game week. The spot builds to reveal a comedic mixup: RGIII wasn't invited to play college football again. He was asked to play college fantasy football with Yahoo.

“We all wish we could relive the college days,” Griffin III said. “This Yahoo Sports campaign brought that feeling back.  We can’t actually go back to play college football, but by playing Yahoo College Fantasy Football, we can still take the W.”

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The campaign builds on the debut of Yahoo College Fantasy Football, the new season-long fantasy game from Yahoo Sports. Engineered for the modern era of college football, the game features players from the Power 4 conferences plus Notre Dame, expanded rosters to accommodate the increased depth of talent in the sport, and for the first time on Yahoo Fantasy, a team “Offense” roster position. 

The campaign also marks continued momentum for Yahoo Sports. Yahoo Fantasy football hit an all-time high in users and teams for the 2025 season, and Yahoo College Fantasy Football is already bringing in new fans. In the first week following launch, more than a third of registrations for the game were brand-new to Yahoo Fantasy.

"Fantasy football is already one of the most passionate communities on the internet, and college football fans have been asking for a game built just for them," said Josh Line, chief marketing officer at Yahoo. "Getting RGIII to be the star of this campaign felt like the perfect way to mark this moment. He's a legend of the sport, in on the joke, and just as excited as our fans are for Week 1. His idea of a 'second shot' at college football turned out to be fantasy instead of reality, and honestly, that's a pretty great way to relive it."

The 30-second spot, created in partnership with BBDO and directed by Martín Holzman of Partizan, will run across Yahoo brand social channels including Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

The campaign also kicks off a month-long blitz of Yahoo Fantasy news. Next Monday, Aug. 10, Yahoo Sports will launch "29 Days of Fantasy" to celebrate its 29th year of fantasy football. During this stretch, Yahoo Sports will unveil a new fantasy feature a day for 29 straight days, giving fans more ways to play and more tools to chase a championship in 2026.

Fans can sign up for Yahoo College Fantasy Football at yahoofantasy.com/college, with drafts open now and scoring beginning with the Week 1 kickoff Sept. 3. Follow along at yahoofantasy.com and across all Yahoo Fantasy social channels for more throughout the month.

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