Tuesday’s rulings in the CBS Interactive lawsuit against the NFL Players Association were even better news than we here at FSB.com realized.

After gathering more information on the proceedings and talking to some people smarter than we are, it has become clear that the NFLPA is very near the same result that Major League Baseball and its players association found in challenging fantasy companies previously.

The key part is that in granting CBS’ motion for summary judgment, the U.S. district court judge presiding over the suit in Minnesota ruled in the plaintiff’s favor — including a declaration that use of player statistics, news and headshots for fantasy games is protected by the First Amendment.

The NFLPA has 30 days from the date of the ruling to appeal the case and seems like it probably will. After all, this is pretty much the last chance for the league and players association limit access for fantasy game providers. If the ruling stands, the NFLPA — like MLB before it — won’t be allowed to take any other fantasy entities to court anywhere in the country over the same issues.

Of course, if the appeal is filed, it will head to the same Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals that ruled in favor of CBC in the baseball case. It’s tough to imagine the court going against its own previous ruling.

If baseball and football are both blocked in attempts to extract payments for access to player statistics, names and licenses, other sports would seem unlikely to mount similar challenges. They would certainly be allowed to, but the size of the fantasy markets in baseball and football put a lot more money on the line in licensing disputes. Would it be worth the lawyer fees for NASCAR or PGA to take fantasy providers to court? Probably not.

One also has to wonder whether such a challenge would be worth any potential public relations fallout that could accompany. With a smaller fan base than MLB or the NFL enjoy, the NHL — for instance — would feel the effects more of alienating any portion of its followers.

So, fantasy folks, although we’re not officially at an endpoint in the fight between sports leagues and game providers, we certainly appear to be closing in on the unofficial finish line.

Last spring, the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by Major League Baseball Advanced Media and MLB Players Association, effectively ending baseball’s case against fantasy providers (led by CBC in that lawsuit).

Three months after the High Court’s ruling, CBS Interactive sued the NFL Players Association to halt another attempt to extract money from fantasy sports providers for stats and other player info that resides in the public domain.

Well, the first set of rulings have been handed down in the CBS v. NFLPA case, and the procedure sure seems to be favoring the fantasy community. According to the court dockets, here’s what has come so far …

1. The NFLPA’s motion to dismiss the suit for “lack of personal jurisdiction” was denied.

2. The NFLPA’s motion to dismiss on grounds of “failure to state a claim” was granted, while that on grounds of “failure to join an indispensable party” was denied.

3. The NFLPA’s motions to change the venue (away from the Eighth Circuit) were denied.

4. “Count IV of the First Amended Complaint is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”

5. CBS’ “motion for partial summary judgment” was granted.

6. “Counts II and III of the First Amended Complaint are DISMISSED as moot.”

Now, we’re not lawyers here at FSB.com, but we do know some. We’ll continue to gather information and analysis on the rulings so far and share our results with you.

The marketing branch of the NFL Players Association has filed a countersuit against CBS Sports over the issue of licensing fees for fantasy information.

In its filing, NFL PLAYERS reportedly contends that CBS Interactive sued in the wrong jurisdiction and named the wrong defendant, the NFLPA. The initial suit was filed in federal court in Minneapolis, which resides in the Eighth Circuit.

NFL PLAYERS filed the countersuit in federal court in Miami, citing the location of CBS Sports’ headquarters in Fort Lauderdale. The setting for the case could be significant because the Eighth Circuit was where favorable ruling for fantasy provider CBC kept Major League Baseball from charging licensing fees for use of player names and statistics in fantasy games, a decision that was appealed all the way to the Supreme Court before justices refused to hear it. The swath of the Midwest included in the Eighth Circuit is also particularly densely populated by fantasy sports businesses.

Representatives from the Players Association say they believe the use of the players’ information in fantasy games infringes on their rights without compensating them. CBS Sports already works under licenses for features such as player photos that run on individual player pages but is seeking an official ruling to disallow the attempted collection of fees for using names and statistics.

The Interactive arm of CBS has filed suit against the NFL Players Association, seeking to keep the group from collecting licensing fees from fantasy football hosts.

The suit, filed in federal court in Minneapolis, pursues a judgment that the NFLPA cannot “extract money from CBS Interactive for the use of publicly available football statistics” under federal antitrust guidelines, according to Bloomberg.com’s reading of the file.

“It’s encouraging to see CBS take this step,” says Jeff Thomas, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association and founder and CEO of World Sports Technology Inc., which owns this site.

The motion comes just three months after the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by Major League Baseball Advanced Media in a similar case resolved in favor of fantasy provider CBC, former parent company of CDM Sports.

“As an association, the FSTA worked hard and dedicated significant budget to support the CDM lawsuit,” Thomas says. “Now that the Supreme Court has supported the fact that licensing fees do not have to be paid, the largest fantasy companies are in a position to save seven figures annually. This is a great example of a leading-edge company showing confidence in the court decision and asking others to stop ignoring it.”

(Rick Wolf of Rotoworld/NBC Universal and chairman of the Fantasy Sports Association chose not to comment on the case, citing the NFLPA’s membership in the FSA.)

This latest suit has the potential to alter the apparent calm delivered by the MLBAM case or settle the notion once and for all that stats and player names exist in the public domain. Action between the NFL and fantasy providers has been expected even in light of the decision in the baseball case.

CBS’ move to sue the players association before the group might challenge fantasy hosts in court could be viewed as an attempt to keep any actions on the subject in more favorable judicial circumstances than if the league or NFLPA determined the jurisdiction. The Eighth Circuit, where the CBS suit has been filed, is the same federal district in which courts found in favor of CBC and one that is home to many fantasy sports businesses.

CBS already pays licensing fees to the NFLPA for things such player photos that display on the site, but the body is also still trying to collect for stats and use of names, which were ruled to exist in the public domain in the MLBAM case.

A ruling in favor of CBS here could clarify the rules on what information is freely available for all fantasy providers.

Visit FSB.com often for updates on the suit’s impact on fantasy sports and reaction from those within the industry.