The personalized message Bryce Harper recorded in November 2024 for a man deep in gambling debt was purchased through video-sharing platform Cameo, and the MLB star did not know it would be used as part of FanDuel’s VIP bettor program, sources tell Front Office Sports.
In the video, published Thursday by The Inquirer, Harper, who is on the Phillies, tells a man named Terry that his VIP host “from FanDuel wanted to make sure your Thanksgiving was extra special. So I just wanted to hop on here and wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving.” Other than the reference to a FanDuel VIP host, Harper does not mention betting in the 21-second video, the bottom of which features the FanDuel logo.
FanDuel does not have a professional relationship with Harper, three sources tell FOS. All three sources say the video was purchased on Cameo, and two of them say a FanDuel employee bought the video. Two sources say the FanDuel employee provided a script for Harper, and that he didn’t know exactly how it would be used. They say the employee purchased a personal video, not a business video, which costs more money and comes with commercial use rights; personal videos do not come with any commercial rights. A representative for Harper declined to comment, and a representative for Cameo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
