IMPORTANT message to the Villarreal USA community regarding the future of the site

Earlier this year the California legislature passed a bill designed to ensure fair compensation for bloggers/writers resident in the state (such as me). Without getting into the details, if I were to continue running this site and posting as much as I do, SB Nation would have to make me an employee, pay me at least minimum wage, benefits, etc. This is not something SBN wants to do, and I can’t say as I blame them, nor do I want to become a paid employee responsible for this, and likely other sites as well. The intent of the law is good, but people like me, who are running a site like this essentially as a labor of love, run afoul of it.

So, what does this mean for Villarreal USA? SBN would like to find a new ‘site manager’ (the person who runs the blog) outside of California. What does “managing the site” entail? Well, that’s for the site manager and SBN to agree upon, but basically, it’s being responsible for content to be put up in a timely fashion, and being the person who can come down on someone who is being abusive or whatever on the site (I’ve had to do this maybe twice in nine years, so it’s not such a big deal).

If one of you in the Villarreal USA community outside California might be interested in doing so, let me know of your interest and I will put you in touch with the relevant folks at SBN. Email me at groguet01@gmail.com and I will be happy to discuss with you.

It’s not a case of me disappearing, or SBN taking “my site away from me.” Those of you who have been around a long time know that I didn’t start the site—and when we joined SBN, back in late 2010, their blog model was different. We had fanposts, fanshots, a lot more content coming from the community, not just one or two people. Over the years their model has become more centralized, and I was happy being the “person in charge” and getting paid a bit for doing so (and plowing much of that back into things like the competition prizes).

I will still be commenting on the site, will still be able to post as a “community insider”, but after January 1, 2020 I won’t be able to provide the sort of volume of posts I have been doing, or be the official “face” of the blog as I have been. As it happens, my wife and I had planned a trip in April and May 2020 and I was going to be searching around for someone to take care of the blog during that time anyhow —this is simply making things happen a little sooner and be a lot more permanent.

I am still checking on our podcast but I believe that should not change significantly. I want to thank all of you for being part of this community and I hope things won’t change very much. Endavant Villarreal, and Endavant Villarreal USA!!