Editorial Independence
This page says what’s uncompromisable about CFA, and how I’ll handle the rest.
What’s locked in stone
Three things will not change regardless of how this site grows, who shows up, or what revenue opportunities present themselves.
1. The independence policy. CFA will never take money from any entity in exchange for influencing what gets said on the site. Not directly, not subtly, not as a “partnership” with strings attached. No pay-for-positive-coverage. No suppressed reviews. No editorial favors.
2. The verification standard. Only verified former D1 football players contribute. The standard doesn’t soften, doesn’t get fast-tracked for important people, doesn’t get waived for institutional partners. Verification is the moat and it stays the moat.
3. The voice of the platform. What former players say gets surfaced honestly — including when it’s uncomfortable for the program, the conference, or me. Negative reviews don’t get buried. Critical takes don’t get edited out.
If any of those three ever appears to be compromised, this page documents the violation within 30 days, and the disclosure stays here permanently.
Where I might take money — and the terms
What I won’t promise is that CFA will never accept any money from any institution this site might also report on.
I’m being honest about this up front: my long-term ideas for what CFA could become include things that may require revenue from entities I might also report on — athletic departments looking for genuine alumni-engagement programs, conferences trying to understand former-player sentiment, sponsors aligned with player welfare. There are versions of this site that, done with integrity, could pursue those revenue lines.
When and if I do, the terms are:
- I make the rules. Any sponsorship, partnership, or institutional revenue source happens on terms I set, not theirs. No editorial influence purchased. No content concessions.
- Full transparency. Any non-trivial institutional revenue source gets disclosed on this page — with the terms, the amount, and the reasoning — within 30 days of the agreement.
- Reversibility. If a deal turns out to compromise the three locks above, it gets unwound publicly.
- Subject to the three locks above. No deal can compromise the independence policy, the verification standard, or the voice of the platform. If a deal requires any of those, the deal doesn’t happen.
Why I think I can be trusted to do this
This is the part where most founders would just say “trust me.” Instead I’ll tell you why my structural position makes the case better than my word does.
- I don’t need this site to make money. CFA isn’t my livelihood. I have a day job. The math has to work out enough to keep the lights on; it doesn’t have to optimize for my income.
- I have an axe to grind. Not against the sport — against specific ways former players get treated and forgotten. That’s the motivation, and it’s personal. It’s not interchangeable with growth-at-all-costs.
- My goals aren’t a recurring-revenue business. What I want from CFA is to influence behavior and policy by organizing a verified community and surfacing what former players actually think. Done right, that’s incompatible with selling out.
Maybe I’m just a cantankerous washed-up former college football player and none of this lands. That’s also a thing to find out. For now: I’m going to show up and do this honestly, in public, and let the work speak.
How to verify this
This policy applies to me, Mason Walters, in my capacity as founder of CFA.
If I ever violate one of the three locked commitments, the violation gets disclosed on this page within 30 days, and the disclosure stays here permanently. If I ever accept institutional revenue, the same disclosure standard applies.
The cleanest way to keep me honest is to call it out when you see it. Find me on X or LinkedIn.
— Mason