Eddie Royal isn’t the only NFL player using social media to gather a fantasy football league.

Eagles tight end Brent Celek — a rising fantasy commodity himself — has spent the summer recruiting 11 fans to compete against him in fantasy this season.

The initial post back on July 24 makes it appear the idea just kind of cropped up rather than being the product of any particular planning. It also, however, aimed to engage his followers on Facebook and Twitter right from the start.

“I’m thinking of having u all submit videos on here explaining why i should pick u to be in my league.. any other ideas?” Celek posted.

He did follow other ideas, adding his first leaguemate the same way Royal did — the simple method of “Who can respond to this message first?” Celek did start to have a bit more fun after that, though, offering the next spot to the first person to post a photo of the subject wearing Celek’s No. 87 jersey and standing by a stop sign. The winner managed to be selected just 8 minutes later … just in case we didn’t know that the public hangs on the words of athletes/celebrities (scoffs the guy writing an article about some football player filling a fantasy league).

Spot 3 was uninspiringly awarded to another fan who posted a photo of himself in an Eagles jersey (though he at least got a bit creative).

The next two apparently went to fans who successfully bored Celek to death with videos.

Position 6 called for commenters to describe why it will be the Eagles’ year, eliciting 336 comments. The winner (Rishi Sugla) posted three different times and appeared to finally win by presenting a quick Celek biography from Wikipedia info. (Tough to say he didn’t actually win for his name, though.)

Spot 7 went to a groom wearing an Eagles vest and singing the team’s fight song at his wedding.

The eighth guy somehow failed to annoy Celek enough with his fight-song rendition to be eliminated.

And that’s where Celek’s league stands, more than three weeks after his last selection. The tight end did promise Monday night, however, to fill the remaining three slots on Tuesday. Royal, of course, went to an eBay auction to raise $810 for charity in filling his final spot.

A similar method would seem an obvious choice for Celek, who already has his own foundation. Brent Celek’s Take Flight Foundation seeks to “provide seriously ill and physically challenged children throughout Greater Philadelphia with daily support and life changing experiences,” with an admirable goal of helping 2 million children by 2013.

Celek provides yet another example of the willingness of some athletes to engage fans directly via the still relatively new social-media channels now available. The fact that he chose fantasy also shows once again the prominence of our games at the highest level of the sports scene that drives them.

No matter how silly the resulting Facebook videos or how excruciatingly long the summarizing FSB.com posts, here’s hoping we see more examples of this kind of interaction. It can be fun and rewarding for all involved.

Here are FSB.com, we’re always interested to hear about pro athletes and other celebrities who play fantasy, especially when the person is really into it. Summer Sanders sure seems to qualify there.

TheFootballGirl.com recently ran an interview with the Olympic swimmer turned TV analyst and host in which Sanders revealed that she plays in three fantasy football leagues, including an “all-girls” league for which she serves as commissioner.

Is that three-year-old league competitive?

“Oh gosh, definitely,” Sanders told TFG’s Melissa Jacobs. “When I first started, I’ll admit some of the owners weren’t that active, but they’ve been replaced by a crop of women who are super into it.

“I’ll tell you, my 63 year old mother is in my league and she’s hilarious because she used to pick based on loyalty. She’s from Nebraska and you know how Nebraskans are so passionate about their football? Well, she’d pick players simply because they played there. But she’s become wiser now.”

It’s a fun interview worth reading, including the explanation of how she married both her husband and the Buffalo Bills.

Welcome aboard the fantasy wagon, Ms. Sanders. Glad to have you.

We all know Joe Namath. He’s the guy who guaranteed his upstart New York Jets would beat the heavily favored Colts and then did it. He’s the guy who became an enduring cultural icon in a game with notoriously short careers and a city that chews icons up and spits them out.

Now, he’s the guy aiming to beat you in fantasy football — RapidDraft Fantasy Football, to be exact.

“I’m excited about teaming up with RapidDraft,” Namath said. “No one does fantasy football like these guys.”

“Broadway Joe” is not only the newest member of the RD avatar lineup. He’ll also be taking part in the strategy behind the avatar, a role filled for the other 10 avatars by experienced fantasy sites.

Most of these experts are folks who spend their days studying football numbers, but Namath brings the unique perspective of a national champion during his three-year run at Alabama and a two-time AFL MVP and four-time league all-star over 12 years in New York City. Namath beyond the numbers with insight into factors such as the real impact of injuries, which players have lost a step and how big a factor weather truly is.

Fresh off being named an inaugural inductee to the Jets’ new Ring of Honor, the hall of fame quarterback joins RapidDraft.com in part to promote his new online venture, BroadwayJoe.tv, which launched Tuesday.

The site is a social portal that affords Namath fans the opportunity to interact with the legend. At the center is a video blog that will feature several posts a week with Namath evaluating the Jets, Alabama and various other stories throughout the world of football. He also promises to tell many stories from a life that has included stints as a game analyst, actor and variety show host.

The message under the “welcome” banner on the new site reads, “My thoughts on the Jets, the Crimson Tide, some of life’s lessons & much more …”

We’ll be interested to hear what Namath has to say at BroadwayJoe.tv, and anyone interested in drafting against the legend can do so any time at RapidDraft.com.

Name: Melissa Jacobs
Nickname: Roto Moto
Job title(s): Founder and Editor, TheFootballGirl.com
Full-time in fantasy? 1 year, although I wouldn’t categorize myself as “full-time” in fantasy. Otherwise do you think I would have taken Braylon Edwards so high in our super-early mock draft
Age: I’m a girl. Do you really expect me to answer? Here’s a hint, though. Older than Adrian Peterson’s number and younger than Stephen Strasburg’s number
Education: I went to U.C. Berkeley and received a B.A. in Political Science
Family status: Happily married to a big-time Bears fan
Favorite fantasy sport to play: Football. The best and only one I play.
Favorite sport to watch: NFL by a mile
Favorite team (any sport): Cal football
All-time favorite athlete: Jerry Rice. The San Francisco Treat.
Years playing fantasy: 15, since high school

I got my start in the sports industry when: In college decided I wanted to be a sports agent. I thought the law school part would be easy but didn’t have great contacts in sports so I got an internship at San Francisco’s big sports radio station, KNBR. It turned into a full-time job quickly.

Since then, my résumé includes: Executive Producer at KNBR Radio; Producer of The Sporting Life with Dick Schaap and ESPN the Magazine with Dan LeBatard at ESPN Radio; Talent Producer for SportsCenter, NFL Live, and Rome is Burning (won 2 Emmys for SportsCenter work); Project Manager for the ESPY Awards, NBA All-Star Game weekend and other ESPN special events; Freelance Producer and Television consultant … and now Editor of TheFootballGirl.com.

Three questions

1. You come to football (and fantasy) via a much different path from most of the rest of us. Can you describe for us your relationship with the NFL, in terms of helping to shape football content as well as direct interactions with players, teams, etc.? How did you get started with fantasy?

I probably have a bit of an advantage in terms of obtaining interviews just because I have a strong booking background. But calling for ESPN and TheFootballGirl.com are wholly different things. Those players, agents and team PR contacts that believe in our empowering women to participate in the NFL mission have been very helpful, yet some just see start-up and probably delete my messages despite long, positive working relationships. It’s been an interesting exercise in that regard thus far. As far as fantasy, I wouldn’t really say that I’m “in fantasy” as much as I love fantasy and think it’s a crucial aspect to have on the site. I’ve been playing most of my life and have been the commissioner of a pretty hard-core league for six years. Despite winning my league more years than not, I would never purport to be an expert, but I can make predictions and provide analysis, too.

2. How have you seen the female audience for football change over the years? What kind of evolution do you expect going forward?

The female audience is growing exponentially. That’s why I got into the business. Female NFL apparel is the fastest-growing NFL ancillary business. And David Geller, the head of Fantasy Games at Yahoo!, recently told me that female participation in fantasy football grew from 8 percent in 2008 to 14 percent last season. That’s a sizable chunk of the market. My goal for the site — and hope for the NFL — is to do more to encourage female engagement in the game. Family-friendly sections at stadiums and the awesome breast cancer awareness month is great for piquing female interest, but my hope is they’ll do more Xs-and-Os female marketing.

3. What does TheFootballGirl.com do differently to cater to the female crowd?

In terms of versus other sites, we sprinkle in female-oriented content without compromising the overall goal, which is to present the many layers of the NFL to female fans … and male fans, too. We have a Featured Football Girl where we interview a prominent woman who falls under the NFL umbrella. (Our latest was with Chris Cooley’s mom, who has recently recovered from Stage 3 breast cancer.) We have a Fashionista Girl columnist who dissects NFL fashions without steering too far away from the Xs and Os. And we generally intersperse content with more female-oriented references (perhaps Meredith Grey over Vinny Chase). What we do differently than many other female football sites is treat women like legitimate fans. We don’t do recipes, we don’t do tight ends, and we’re not overly saturated with Football 101 material (although we have some if anyone’s looking for a refresher).

Bonus: You mentioned the Alyssa Milano NFL apparel ad in a draft preview for Forbes.com. Tell us, does she make you want to buy one of those contoured “ladies” T-shirts or see a new commercial with, say, Justin Timberlake?

Funny question! I actually think Alyssa’s “Touch” clothing is very stylish and a perfect alternative to wearing your boyfriend’s jersey of the past. I do sell her stuff on the site but haven’t bought any yet. What I will buy are the awesome new t-shirts coming soon to TheFootballGirl.com! They are different from anything you’ve ever seen a female football fan wear before. Oh, and I’ll watch any commercial with JT.