Todd Gurley on Fantasy Owners Donating Winnings to Charity: 'That Was Dope'

Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley was elated Thursday upon hearing fantasy football owners donated part of their winnings to charity.

According to ESPN.com's Alden Gonzalez, the NFL MVP candidate was glad to see such philanthropy from his fantasy owners: "Man, that was dope. That's real cool, just seeing that on social media. It doesn't matter what the money amount is—$10, $5, $25. Just to see that and people caring, that means a lot."

The notion that fantasy owners should donate to charities supported by their players was popularized by Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and later written about by ESPN fantasy guru Matthew Berry.

Gurley single-handedly carried many fantasy owners to championships due to his performances in Week 15 and Week 16.

Per Gonzalez, Gurley became the first player since at least 1950 to produce 45 or more PPR points in consecutive weeks.

Gurley went off for 152 yards and three touchdowns on the ground along with three catches for 28 yards and another score in Week 15 against the Seattle Seahawks before racking up 118 rushing yards and 10 receptions for 158 yards and two touchdowns against the Tennessee Titans in Week 16.

After getting love from his fantasy owners, Gurley discussed the Jekyll and Hyde nature of how players tend to be treated by those involved in fantasy football:

"When you're doing good, fantasy is good. But when you're doing bad, it's not good at all. You're like, 'Man, leave me alone.' You get a bunch of tweets and messages. People seem super excited. I guess because we played the day before Christmas, everybody was like, 'Man, thank you so much for making my Christmas.' I'm like, 'Hey man, whatever I can do to bring the holiday spirit up, I'm with it.'"

Gurley has been on the receiving end of that dynamic over the past two seasons, as he struggled mightily throughout 2016 following a standout rookie campaign as part of a Rams offense that ranked last in the NFL with just 14 points per game.

First-year head coach Sean McVay has helped lead a jarring turnaround, though, as L.A. currently ranks first in the NFL with 31 points per game in 2017.

All told, Gurley has tallied a league-leading 2,093 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns, which could make him the first non-quarterback to be named NFL MVP since Adrian Peterson in 2012.