An iconic footy website has undergone a change of ownership after 21 years of operation.
Fan Footy, the first website to provide real-time Aussie rules fantasy scores, released a statement confirming the news.
At its peak, Fan Footy had 125 million annual page viewers but it has been on a steady decline in recent years which was behind the decision.
"Why did I sell now? It was a combination of revenue dropping to unacceptable levels, and the realisation that this would probably be my last opportunity to get an exit," the statement from founder, Paul Montgomery, read.
"As a founder, the exit is a huge emotional achievement. Plenty of people in my position had to quietly shut down their site for lack of demand, with no pot of gold at the end, or an archive fire sale for a minimal amount that didn't cover their expenses at all.
"I was the buyer in a couple of those situations over the years, and I watched legends like Charles Happell have that happen to them."
An old-school outdated web design was chief among the criticism it has received but fantasy football pundits have found great value in its offerings since it became so widespread.
Maltese firm Clickout Media has acquired the site but the outgoing owner, knwon online as 'm0nty', does not expect it to remain a similar product which contained live blogging and similar features.
Montgomery addressed his personal future after establishing a strong reputation for his work.
"Due to the lack of non-compete, I could set up exactly the same service on another domain and resume liveblogging as if nothing had happened. I am choosing not to do that, and will leave it to younger models," he said.
"The main reason none of my many competitors knocked me off over the past couple of decades is because none of them treated it like an actual job where they performed acts of journalism. Perhaps my absence from the field will encourage them that they can make it work as a going concern.
"There is still a lot of demand for footy liveblog content, not just among fantasy coaches.
"I am too young to retire, and I have two kids approaching high school. I have been working on reskilling as a game developer, and have my first title Mr Football aimed at a December release on Steam, iOS and Android. It is a highly ambitious title (see the wiki), one I have been working on for a long time, and is finally ready to publish after a few more polishes.
"I don't know if I will return to footy media. I think I have a particular set of useful skills, in which nobody else in the industry seems to have specialised. I will shop myself around to a few places where I think I might fit.
"Journalism is a tough gig these days."
