They’re separated by thousands of miles. They also feature climates on extreme ends of the weather spectrum.
So, why in the world is Jared Jones, a Southern California kid who grew up going to Dodgers games, an ardent Buffalo Bills fan?
Easy: fantasy football.
Six years ago, Jones tried it for the first time and had Bills quarterback Josh Allen on his team. As competitive as anyone in MLB, Jones obsessed over Allen’s performance every week — and it was a good time to do it, with 2020 serving as his breakout year.
Jones was hooked.
“Kind of just started watching Bills games because [Allen] was my quarterback,” Jones explained. “Became a fan over time. I’ve had him just about every year since then.”
Fantasy football is an essential part of any workplace this time of year, and the Pirates clubhouse is no different. They had their fantasy football draft at the Roberto Clemente Museum on Sunday night, and the man running it was Jones, who’s in his first year as commissioner.
It’s a problem Jones created for himself a few weeks ago, when he was curious whether anyone planned on starting a fantasy football league since the Pirates’ former commissioner, Ryan Borucki, was no longer with the team.
Jones volunteered himself for duty with curiosity.
The role has been surprisingly stressful, Jones said, the result of a pre-draft argument over Kirby Yates and Luke Weaver trading draft picks.
“Everyone’s worked up,” Jones said. “I don’t see what’s wrong with it. They’re grown men trading their picks. Happens in the NFL Draft all the time. But, there’s a lot of commotion, and I’m being the one held responsible for it.”
One issue might be the Pirates declining to veto trades, part of an elaborate player-input system Jones employed in the clubhouse, where participants were asked to vote on league preferences.
“That was one of the worst things we could have done as a league,” Jones said. “You’re seeing guys mad we don’t have a veto system for trades.”
Within the Pirates clubhouse, the same as your office, there are different levels of fantasy football fandom.
Ryan O’Hearn is obsessed. Bubba Chandler also loves it, especially the trash talk, although Jones had some choice words there. Mitch Keller has been doing it for years and enjoys the camaraderie.
On the other side, Mason Montgomery said he was largely indifferent. Paul Skenes gave it a shot last year but faded by Week 10.
“[Chandler] thinks because he played football he knows everything about it, then he ends up drafting the worst team,” Jones said. “I’m excited to see what he puts together.
“Paul tried to play last year. By Week 10, he stopped setting his lineup. He was that guy.”
The Pirates determined their draft order by flying paper airplanes. (Yes, seriously. You’ll see the footage on SportsNet Pittsburgh soon.)
It’s also a PPR league, which Jones very much wants. They award six points per touchdown pass instead of three or four, increasing the value of a good quarterback.
Jones won the league as a rookie 2024 and finished third last year. He also said he’s sort of drifted away from doing too much draft prep. It’s better to remain nimble when it comes to constructing a roster.
“I’ve tried doing mock drafts, and none of it goes the way it’s supposed to go,” Jones said. “Guys want to get [specific players]. Players get picked before [they should]. Everything goes down the toilet.
“I feel like if you just go in with an empty mind and get your guys, it’s probably the best way to assemble a team.”
Some employ clever names, though those often remain in-house. Jones said he actually won’t come up with his until after the draft, wanting to tailor it specifically to his roster.
Which may or may not include Allen and a few of his Buffalo buddies.
It all serves a few purposes for the Pirates. Helping them to remember what it’s like to be a fan, for one. And scratching that competitive itch while fostering clubhouse chemistry.
As long as everyone remembers to set their lineups.
“It makes the football season more fun,” Jones said. “You’re rooting for your guys. You don’t really cheer for a certain team — outside of my case, where I became a Bills fan over it.
“But you end up watching Jets games for Breece Hall or Browns games for their running back. It’s a wide variety of football.”
Jones described himself as a “casual” fantasy football participant, though it doesn’t sound that way. He said he’s watching games most of the day Sunday, including three or four at once during the 1 o’clock and 4 o’clock windows.
“I’m definitely stressing out when it’s crunch time, I’m down 10 points and the guy I’m going against has a tight end who’s rolling,” Jones said.
The next frontier for the Pirates league could be punishments, Jones said. They’ve become increasingly popular on social media, sometimes to the point of being overdone.
The Pirates don’t do anything special other than having the last-place finisher in the regular season give third place half of its buy-in back, therefore allowing more winnings to be spread among the two top and weekly winners.
But assuming the winner remains with the club in Spring Training of the following season, Jones’ greatest act as commissioner might be ahead of him.
“If last place of the regular season is on the team next year,” Jones said, “I’ll probably figure something out.”
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.
