Fantasy football (gridiron)

Fantasy football is a game in which the participants serve as general managers of virtual professional American football teams. The competitors select their rosters by participating in a draft in which all relevant NFL players are available. Points are based on the actual performances of the players in the real-world competition. The game typically involves the National Football League, but can also involve other leagues, such as the Canadian Football League or NCAA.

Example of fantasy football, an ESPN championship score.

There are three main types of fantasy football:

  • Traditional - Leagues in which the competition can run for an entire season, normally culminating in playoffs.
  • Dynasty or keeper leagues - Dynasty leagues are drafted in the same way to a traditional season-long league, however they continue indefinitely. There will be a follow up draft each year for rookies (players joining the league). Keeper leagues are very similar, the main difference being not all the players are retained year to year, a keeper league will have a designated number of players each owner can decide to keep on their roster.
  • Daily - An accelerated version of the traditional format in which the contests are conducted over shorter periods, such as a week or a single day. Online daily fantasy football is traditionally managed by companies running widespread betting pools that can involve thousands of players. In the United States, the two largest daily fantasy firms are DraftKings and FanDuel.

History

Modern fantasy football can be traced back to Wilfred "Bill" Winkenbach, an Oakland, California businessman and a limited partner in the Oakland Raiders. In a New York City hotel room during a 1962 Raiders cross-country trip, Winkenbach, along with Raiders public relations employee Bill Tunnel and Oakland Tribune reporter Scotty Stirling, developed the rules that would eventually be the basis of modern fantasy football.[1]

The inaugural league was called the GOPPPL (Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League), and the first draft took place in Winkenbach's home in Oakland in August, 1963.[2] The league consisted of eight members, made up of administrative affiliates of the AFL, pro football journalists, and individuals who had purchased or sold 10 season tickets for the Raiders’ 1963 season. Each roster consisted two quarterbacks, four halfbacks, two fullbacks, four wide receivers/tight ends, two kick/punt returners, two kickers, two defensive backs/linebackers and two defensive linemen. The scoring system was entirely dependent on real-life scoring.[lower-alpha 1] The original system rewarded 25 points for a touchdown pass, rush, or reception, 25 for a field goal, 10 for an extra point, and 200 for a kickoff, punt, or interception that was returned for a touchdown.[2] As of 2015, the GOPPPL was still active and had maintained the original scoring system.[3]

In 1969, Andy Mousalimas, an original creator of GOPPPL and participant in the inaugural draft, brought the game to his Oakland sports bar, the King's X, where the first public fantasy football league was founded.[1] From this point onward, the idea spread by word of mouth when the patrons of other Oakland and San Francisco bars visited the King's X for trivia contests.[4]

Fantasy football slowly spread across the country in the following decades. In 1980, a group of six students at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio founded the Indoor Football League (IFL), one of the oldest fantasy football leagues still in operation today.[5] Charter members Tom Spear and Jeff Kornreich came up with the idea of forming a league after reading a short article in the September 1980 issue of Inside Sports magazine that outlined the basic concept of fantasy football.[5] All of the IFL's original members Tom Spear, Jeff Kornreich, Doug Lowe, Mo Bidar, Bill Kovach, Jim Papanu, Dave Peterson, Liz Greenberg, Jeff Girimont and John Emory are still actively involved, demonstrating the ability of fantasy football leagues to last several decades despite changing trends on and off the field. The league is a keeper league with many old-school rules. The trophy is still engraved by the same company that made the trophy in 1980.[6] The league and its history were the subjects of a 2017 video feature by the FNTSY Sports Network.[7]

In 1983, the first East Coast rotisserie sports fantasy football league was formed at Marist School (Georgia) in Atlanta by seven high school students: Scott Frank, Frankie Doherty, Mark Wesley, Glenn Gilbertti, Chris Decherd, Jay Dowlen, Gil Markham, and Chris Daniel.[8] In the early days of the league, before ESPN was broadcast nationwide and statistics were available on the Internet, league members would call TNT basketball sportscaster and Marist School graduate Ernie Johnson Jr., then working at WSB-TV in Atlanta, to receive statistical updates from Sunday games before the box scores appeared in Monday newspapers.[8] The league remains in continuous operation, with two of the original members continuing to participate into the 2020s.[8]

In 1985, the Grandstand Sports Services launched the first nationally available fantasy football leagues online through Q-Link (later America Online). In 1987, Fantasy Football Index, the first national magazine dedicated to fantasy football, was launched by Ian Allan and Bruce Taylor.[9]

The first national fantasy football competition was Pigskin Playoff, developed by Lee Marc, Robert Barbiere and Brad Wendkos. The weekly game was launched in 1990 in a number of newspapers across the United States, including the Arizona Republic,[10] the Detroit Free Press,[11] the Los Angeles Times,[12] and the Miami Herald.[13] Players chose their teams by calling a toll-free phone number and entering four-digit codes for each of their selections. Pigskin Playoff served as an early version of today's daily fantasy football, as each week's highest-scoring participant was rewarded with a trip to Hawaii.[10] The creators of Pigskin Playoff were awarded two patents for its interactive touch dial method of gameplay.[14][15]

In 1997, CBS launched an online fantasy football competition, with other sports networks and websites quickly following suit.[16] Yahoo was the first site to launch a free competition, giving it an advantage over its industry competitors.[1] The NFL launched its own official game on NFL.com in 2010.[17] Online growth has fueled both the fantasy football industry and interest in the NFL itself.[9]

As of 2017, 59 million people played fantasy sports, per the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association, and four out of five fantasy participants played fantasy football.[9]

League types

There are many different methods of organising fantasy football leagues, some of which may be combined. The popular league type is head-to-head, it is also possible to play total points leagues.[18]

  • [19] In head-to-head leagues, a fantasy team matches up against a different fantasy team from the league each week. The team that receives the most points of the two receives a win for that week. Points are dictated by the scoring system that is either standard set by the website or custom set by the league. A team's total is the sum of all players' points who were placed in a starting slot by the team owner for the day they were playing (as opposed to being on the bench, in which any points gained would not count). Teams with the best win-loss record advance to the playoffs. If two teams have the same record, tiebreakers are employed based on league preference.
  • Total points leagues are leagues in which teams accumulate points on an ongoing basis. The league standings are determined by the teams’ total points. The most popular total points leagues are "best-ball" leagues, where the week-to-week roster management is removed.[20] Playoff leagues are also frequently total points leagues.[21]
  • All play leagues are leagues in which all teams play each other each week. For example, if there are 14 teams in the league, the top scoring team that week would post a 13–0 record, 2nd highest scoring team would post a 12–1 record and so on.
  • A Keeper style league allows teams to keep a set number of players from one year to the next and sometimes assign them contracts. In the first season of a keeper league, the draft is performed the same as any other standard league draft would be performed. In a keeper league you cut your roster limit to a certain number each offseason. Keeper leagues can keep as few as 1 or as many as even 16 or more in deeper keeper leagues. If your roster limit is cut down in the offseason, it's a keeper league as opposed to a dynasty league where you maintain your entire roster.[22]
  • A Salary cap league is a particular type of fantasy league which adds another factor of realism similar to the NFL: the salary cap. Each player has an associated salary and the total spent on all the players on a team has a maximum - the "salary cap."
  • In Auction leagues, a team is composed of players who are bought auction-style during the draft, as opposed to using traditional snake drafts that are common in fantasy football. Each team is given a budget to bid on players.[23]
  • In Dynasty leagues, a team keeps all players from year to year and replenishes rosters through rookie drafts. Dynasty leagues are enhanced versions of keeper leagues. In dynasty leagues, your roster limit is unchanged in the offseason, or increases temporarily to allow the addition of rookies.[24]
  • In Two-quarterback leagues, a team has the ability to start two quarterbacks in their weekly lineup. This changes the value of the quarterback position, as it doubles the number of quarterbacks able to start in any given week. However, in any fantasy football format, the number of quarterbacks who can start is determined by the league commissioner.
  • In Empire leagues, teams compete in a dynasty-format and prizes are offered for league winners. A special side-pot is created from entry fees each year. Once an owner wins the league two years in a row, the Empire pot goes to that owner, and the league starts over.
  • SuperFlex Leagues are leagues in which teams can start a QB in the flex position.[25] Generally, a superflex position is added in addition to traditional roster spots such as a flex position. Often, defenses and kickers are removed from these league formats.
  • IDP or Individual Defensive Player leagues are leagues where teams draft individual defensive players in addition to offensive players, as opposed to drafting an NFL team's defense.[26] In rare cases, it is also possible to draft individual players at other positions that are not typically on fantasy rosters, such as offensive linemen, kickers, punters, and return specialists.
  • Pirate Leagues are leagues where a winning team gets to choose a player from his opponent's roster.
  • Daily fantasy sports is like traditional fantasy sports where players draft a team of real-world athletes who then score fantasy points according to set scoring rules. However, instead of being stuck with the same team through a whole season, daily fantasy sports contests last just one day (or in the case of NFL, one weekend). Users can play head-to-head or in larger field tournaments. Both cash leagues and free contests are available for play.

Draft

Each season, fantasy football leagues hold a draft (note: in dynasty leagues, this normally consists of NFL rookies only), where each team drafts NFL players. These players are kept unless they are traded or dropped, whereby they enter a pool of unowned players that any team may claim. In most leagues, no player may be owned by more than one team, although some leagues do allow for this.[27] There are essentially two types of drafts. In a traditional "serpentine" or "snake" draft, owners take turns drafting players in a "snake" method, i.e. the owner who picks first in the odd rounds picks last in the even rounds, in the interests of fairness.

In an auction draft, each owner has an imaginary budget which he must use to purchase all his players in an auction format. Owners take turns nominating players for open bid. The owner who bids the highest on each player receives that player, reducing their remaining budget accordingly. Auction drafts are viewed as the more fair method since every owner begins on equal ground.[28] A few leagues use a hybrid of the two styles, selecting a portion of their roster via auction, with the remainder selected through a serpentine method.

The most commonly used strategies are value-based drafting and opinion-based drafting. Value-based drafting entails projecting the total fantasy point value for each player in the draft and then figuring their value with respect to other players at their position, while standard opinion-based drafting requires ranking each player based on your opinion of worth or other people's opinion of said player's worth.[29]

Drafts can be conducted in "live" or "auto" formats. Live drafts involve players utilising real-time strategy and reactionary measures to acquire specific available players. Auto-drafts use preliminary draft rankings set by each team to automate the draft cycle and establish the teams. Live drafts are often preferred to automated as they require more skill.[30]

The location of fantasy football drafts depends on the geographic location of each team manager. With the rise of the internet, all fantasy football providers have made online drafting an option. The vast majority of fantasy football drafts take place online. Some leagues make a tradition of meeting up to draft, and in some leagues, managers travel cross-country to attend annual league drafts. Group drafts conducted in-person are typically scheduled many weeks in advance. Common locations include boardrooms, offices, bars, or dining establishments.[31] Once the league is full with team owners, the order of the draft numbers should be initiated by either a random in-person or computer-based draft order, or, in a keeper or dynasty league, the draft order runs in reverse order of the previous year's standings or reverse order of most potential points for.

Team rosters

Each team is allowed a predetermined number of players on its roster, as well as a specified number at each position that can or must be used in each game (the "starters"). Owners for each team then determine each week which players will start (within the rules) and which will be "benched". Just like in real football, bench players can become starters for various reasons: due to other players' injury, poor performance, or if another player's team has a bye that week.

Each week, owners choose their starters before their players' real-world games start. Whether to sit or start a player is usually based on strategic considerations including the player's past and expected performance, defensive match-ups, the team he is playing that week and so on.

Starters

Each team owner must designate which players from the team roster will be starters each week - i.e. the only players who will "score" any points. The following example is similar to many common formats required for a starting lineup:

There are many variants on this. Lots of leagues are starting to add extra 'flex' positions instead of kickers and DST, many believe this to reduce the 'luck' aspect of the game. Some leagues use individual defensive players (IDPs) (and in some cases a punter) instead of or in addition to a combined Team Defense/Special Teams. Some other leagues use separate Defense and Special Teams. Another variant is the "flex" position, which can be filled by a player in one of several positions. Flex positions are often limited to "WR/TE", "RB/WR", or "RB/WR/TE". Traditionally, this flex was required to be an RB, WR, or TE; however, some leagues allow any position to fill this flex slot as an "OP" (any player who plays a position on offense) or "superflex". Some leagues also have a two-quarterback requirement for a starting lineup, providing yet another twist into the complexity of different scoring systems and lineups.

Scoring configurations

League managers earn fantasy points based on the performance of their starting players' performances in NFL games. Players accumulate points based purely on their statistical output. For example, each real-life yard gained or touchdown scored correlates to a certain number of fantasy points. However, yards lost and turnovers result in negative fantasy points.

While rare, it is possible for players to earn points for plays not traditionally associated with their position. For example, a wide receiver who completes a pass would earn the same number of points as a quarterback completing the same pass.

Standard and PPR scoring

A key distinction in scoring systems is between standard and points per reception (PPR) scoring. Leagues with standard scoring award no points for receptions, though players still earn points for receiving yards gained. PPR leagues award one point for each reception, while half-PPR leagues award half a point. PPR leagues are higher-scoring and place a greater emphasis on wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs who catch a large number of passes, while half-PPR leagues attempt to provide more balance between rushing and receiving.[32][33] In a survey conducted by Apex Fantasy Leagues, PPR scoring was found to be the most popular scoring system.[34] Many major fantasy football websites use PPR as their default setting, including ESPN[32] and NFL.com.

The following is the default scoring system on NFL.com[35] and is identical to the default scoring systems of ESPN[36] and Yahoo[37] except where noted. Negative points are awarded for yards lost at the same rate that positive points are awarded for yards gained.

A team defense can also gain or lose fantasy points based on the number of real-life points that they allow. The following is the default defensive scoring system on NFL.com and Yahoo.

  • 10 points for a shutout
  • 7 points for allowing 1-6 points
  • 4 points for allowing 7-13 points
  • 1 point for allowing 14-20 points
  • 0 points for allowing 21-27 points
  • -1 point for allowing 28-34 points
  • -4 points for allowing 35+ points

Pure-scoring and pure-yardage leagues

A pure-scoring system awards fantasy points based solely on touchdowns, field goals, and extra points scored by a team's players. Many of the original fantasy football leagues were pure-scoring leagues as this provided for easier tracking of team points throughout the season. As the game matured and moved online, tracking yardage became easier and more sophisticated scoring configurations were adopted. In pure-yardage leagues, points may only be scored by accumulating passing, rushing, or receiving yards.

Individual defensive player (IDP)

An alternative method for scoring defense is individual defensive player (IDP) scoring. Rather than awarding points for the on-field actions of entire defensive units, IDP scoring awards points for plays made by individual players. Such plays may include tackles, sacks, interceptions, quarterback hits, safeties, and other defensive statistics.[38]

Additional customization

Most fantasy websites allow leagues to customize their own scoring options. Some leagues award bonus points to players for exceptional performances. For example, NFL.com allows leagues to customize scoring to award bonus points for a player who passes for over 300 yards in a game or scores a touchdown of over 40 yards, among others.[35] NFL.com also allows players to earn points in statistical categories that are not traditionally a part of fantasy scoring, such as pass attempts or yards gained on kickoff and punt returns.[35] In addition to earning or losing fantasy points based on real-life points allowed, team defenses may also earn or lose points based on real-life yards allowed. ESPN even allows custom scoring for punting yards, touchbacks, and punting average.[36]

Demographics

According to the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association (FSGA), of the 59.3 million people who played fantasy sports in the US and Canada in 2017, 43.2 million were American adults.[39] A 2019 FSGA survey found that 81% of fantasy players were male, 50% were between the ages of 18 and 34 (with an average age of 37.7), 67% were employed full-time, and 47% made more than $75,000 per year.[39][lower-alpha 8] A 2015 analysis found that 89.8% were white and 51.5% were unmarried.[40]

Effect on American economy

Many fantasy leagues require an entry fee that is given to or used to fund prizes for the top player or players in the league.[41] Daily fantasy platforms, such as FanDuel, manage games with thousands of players and collect a percentage of each entry fee before distributing winnings. For example, FanDuel's revenue includes 10% of its entry fee intake.[42]

Fantasy players also contribute to the economy via spending on industry products and services, such as advanced scouting reports and player rankings. In 2012, an estimated $1.67 billion was spent on fantasy sports in the United States and Canada, not including league entry fees.[41] In 2019, the size of the American and Canadian fantasy sports industry was estimated at more than $7 billion by the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association.[43]

Ad revenue

Advertising is one of the largest sources of fantasy football revenue. Many sports websites that offer free entry into leagues utilize advertising to support their fantasy offerings.[44] Though difficult to quantify, revenue generated by ads on fantasy football programming is estimated at $2 to $5 billion annually.[45] This form of revenue can be especially lucrative because fantasy team managers are often frequent Internet users. On average, fantasy players generated four times more page views and spent six times as long on NFL.com than non-fantasy players in 2012.[46]

Complementary and derivative industries

Fantasy football has given rise to a number of complementary and derivative industries. Subscription-based information sites, such as Rotoworld, offer advanced data and player rankings marketed as providing an informational advantage. Fantasy-specific escrow companies, such as LeagueSafe, may hold league entry fees in secure accounts until the end of the season.[47] Other websites offer the ability to have disputes between players solved by a third party via fantasy football arbitration.[48]

The rise of fantasy football has contributed to a rise in interest in applying high-level mathematics and computer science to the fantasy industry. A small number of fantasy players, usually with advanced degrees in mathematics, statistics, or computer science, apply algorithms and advanced statistics in order to hypothesize the best possible lineup for a given week or season.[49][50] These advanced players are often far more successful than casual fans; a 2015 study found that 91% of daily fantasy baseball profits over the first half of the season were won by the top 1.3% of players.[51]

Gambling

Fantasy sports is generally considered to be a form of gambling, though it is far less strictly regulated than other forms of sports betting. In the United States, three states – Arizona, Louisiana, and Montana – have bans against online fantasy sports. However, only Montana's ban is codified in statute.[52] Arizona law does not explicitly prohibit fantasy sports,[53] and Louisiana is in the process of adopting legal online fantasy sports competitions.[lower-alpha 9] In contrast, only 18 states have legalized sports betting.[55] Unlike traditional sports betting, fantasy football is generally viewed as a "game of skill," rather than a "game of chance," thus exempting it from gambling bans and regulations in many jurisdictions.[56][57][58]

As of March 2020, daily fantasy sports operate in 43 US states as well as in several other countries around the world.[59]

Effect on spectatorship

NFL executives have recognized the importance of fantasy football's success to the league.[46] A 2019 survey found that people who had played fantasy football were more than twice as likely to follow the NFL "very closely" or "somewhat closely" than those who had not.[60] Nearly a quarter of fantasy players reported that the primary reason that they watched NFL games was to keep up with their fantasy teams.[60] Fantasy participants are also reported to attend 0.22 to 0.57 more NFL games in person per season than non-fantasy players.[61] The NFL entered into a reported five-year, $600 million deal with Sprint in 2006 that was driven at least in part by fantasy sports, allowing subscribers to draft and monitor their teams using their cellphones.[62] In 2011, the NFL directed teams to show fantasy statistics during games on stadium video boards.[63]

"Hey, great game last week."
"Yeah, but we lost."
"But you threw five touchdowns, and that's all I need from you.

— A typical conversation with a fantasy fan, according to Peyton Manning[64]

@thrasherjt: you fucked me over in fantasy bro
@k1: @thrasherjt I could give 2 shits.

— Kyler Murray responds to a fan's complaint on Instagram[65]

NFL players have displayed mixed reactions on the impact of fantasy football on fans' habits and preferences. In 2006, then-Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer told ESPN, "I think it's ruined the game" due to fan allegiance shifting away from teams and towards individual player performance.[64] Then-New York Giants running back Tiki Barber said that "in a game solely designed around the team concept, it's nice to have some individual recognition every now and then. Fantasy football does that."[64] Fans frequently ask players on their fantasy rosters to score more often; Peyton Manning reported that only autograph requests exceeded fan requests for "more fantasy touchdowns" from him.[64] Several NFL players have stated that they play fantasy football as well.[66][67]

A key component of fantasy football team management is tracking player injuries throughout the season. Critics charge that this leads to fantasy players being more concerned with the amount of game time missed by an injured player than the nature or extent of the injury. David Chao said that when he was team doctor for the San Diego Chargers, "The first 10 to 12 years, I would be asked 'Is LT (LaDainian Tomlinson) healthy?' to help our team win this Sunday. The last five years there, the question would be 'Is (Antonio) Gates healthy? He’s on my fantasy team!'"[68]

Wasted productivity

While its precise impact is difficult to quantify, estimates of American workplace productivity lost due to fantasy football range from $6.5 billion to $17 billion annually.[69][70][71][72] As of 2019, an estimated 7.5 million Americans play fantasy football at work.[72] However, according to John Challenger, an executive at a research firm that produces an annual report on the subject, measuring the precise impact of fantasy football on employers is difficult because "there is no way to determine how many people are managing their teams from work or how long they are spending on these activities."[71]

Researchers have noted that fantasy football's benefits towards motivation and workplace culture may offset these losses. "It might cost employers a little bit in lost productivity, but we think it makes up for it in spades in terms of building up the culture in an organization," said Andrew Challenger, whose firm estimated in 2019 that fantasy football cost employers $9 billion. "It helps transform jobs that have become more and more transactional into communities."[72]

Notes
  1. Current fantasy scoring systems take other statistical categories into account, such as passing, rushing, and receiving yards gained and points allowed by a team defense.
  2. Fractional points are awarded for achieving fewer yards.
  3. Yahoo awards 0.5 points for each reception.
  4. Yahoo awards 4 points for each 40-49 yard field goal.
  5. ESPN also subtracts 1 point for each field goal missed from any distance.
  6. ESPN awards 6 points for each 60+ yard field goal.
  7. ESPN and Yahoo also award 2 points for each blocked kick by the defense.
  8. According to the survey, 34% of the general population earned $75,000 annually.
  9. In November 2018, nearly three quarters of Louisiana's parishes voted to legalize fantasy sports. The state legislature is currently working to adopt regulations for the industry before formal legalization takes place.[54]

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