Fantasy Football; What’s Not to Like?

Every August, almost 30 million people across the country join a fantasy football league in preparation for the upcoming football season. Fans can select their own 16-man fantasy roster composed of players across the NFL, ranging from rookies to seasoned veterans. For the next six months, fantasy participants cheer on their selected players, hoping their players record the most points possible in order to win their fantasy league. 

Fantasy sports are usually played in a league with eight to 12 people. Before the season begins, players take turns drafting football players onto their teams. These athletes’ performances throughout the season reflect in the number of points they score for their fantasy team. During the season, managers—fantasy league participants—can initiate trades with other teams, as well as pick up undrafted players that flew under the radar in the beginning of the season.

Many people around the world play similar fantasy-style leagues for various professional sports, including basketball and baseball. Fantasy sports are so alluring to fans since they provide the opportunity to establish unique connections with other fans and the game as a whole. Rather than simply rooting for their team to win, fantasy sports fans are encouraged to support a variety of individual players in different ways. Thus, typically mundane plays like a 50-yard field goal become far more electric and exciting. Instead of only rooting for one’s favorite team or players, fantasy football fans have an added incentive to support and take special interest in players and teams that they previously wouldn’t have supported. 

Additionally, fantasy sports heavily involve both strategy and analysis; more research about one’s players, their tendencies, and even the weather during game time can result in a significant advantage. However, even with the wide range of statistics available to participants, the game ultimately hinges on luck. Even those who possess in-depth knowledge of players, like sports media broadcasters, still make countless, incorrect predictions. ESPN fantasy football analyst Matthew Berry said, “No matter how much research you do and analysis you do, you still never know. It’s one of the reasons we love sports.”

Among other fantasy sports, fantasy football reigns the most popular. Fantasy basketball has 20 million users and fantasy baseball has 15 million users annually, whereas fantasy football records around 30 million players annually. Fantasy football has certain attributes that set it apart from other fantasy sports. For example, the NFL season only has 18 game weeks, so every game has more weight on a team’s overall performance. On the other hand, baseball and basketball see much longer seasons: 162 and 82 games, respectively; therefore, each individual game has much less of an impact on one team’s season. This makes each week of the football season a new opportunity that could swing the tide of the fantasy league, unlike the mundane repetition of fantasy baseball and basketball seasons.

Furthermore, football, unlike other sports, has more unique positions. The quarterback is the only player who passes the ball; the receivers and tight ends receive passes; and the running backs gain rushing yards. This dynamic variety doesn’t occur in basketball, since all five players have similar roles on offense and defense. In baseball, all position players hit and all pitchers pitch. Additionally, in fantasy baseball and basketball, the draft order is typically determined by player skill. However, in fantasy football, the dynamic variety of positions changes based on the way users draft players. The most talented players aren’t necessarily taken first; players are weighed against others of the same position to determine how many more points they will score than others. This leads to a different kind of draft in which the best tight end in the NFL might be drafted after 20 receivers and running backs, and the best kicker might not be drafted until the end.

Fantasy football provides a way for fans to create their own sports teams, root for their favorite players in new ways, and watch the game in a different light. Regardless of the sport, joining a fantasy league is a great way to encourage yourself to watch more sports, and it sparks competitive fun with your friends.