I love playing fantasy football. However I can't help but feel a little silly when it comes to the amount of time and money that I put into it. Overall I spend very little compared to most fantasy football guru's. I spent 7 bucks on a fantasy magazine. (7 bucks will get me around town for a week) The league I play in has a $30 entry fee. $8 dollars goes to our website to help maintain our scores. Some of the money goes for a trophy for the winner of the league. I refuse however to spend money on a trophy for fantasy football, I would be
embarrassed to display it anywhere. Hey everyone, this is my trophy for guessing who would play well this year. (There is a bit more to it than guessing but come on, this isn't sport) So if the winner doesn't want a trophy then the money ends up in a pot for the winner.
The one catch about my league is that the winner can't keep the money. He must donate it to a charity. Of course, those of you who know me know that my money will go to camp. Yes, I'm fine with giving the money to a church camp even though it comes from gambling. If I don't happen to win then the money goes to another worthy cause like the American Cancer Society or the local battered women's shelter. The real mind blowing thing about fantasy football is the amount of money lost by corporations every year due to employee's not working and spending time thinking about and spending time on their leagues websites. Here are some stats.
According to one study, the annual losses in the United States can be anywhere from 275 million to 435 million. (
That's some serious bankroll)
60 percent of all fantasy team owners spend at least an hour a day working on their fantasy team. (I don't fall into that category either, maybe
that's why I have never won my league)
1 billion dollars is spent annually on fantasy sports magazines. (I did contribute 7 dollars to that)
There are 15 million fantasy football players in America.
So, as football season quickly approaches please draft responsibly and remember your boss is watching and probably doing better in his league. One final tip, if you do play, don't draft your players based on your favorite team in real life.
Danny
