In total, the fantasy sports market is said to be worth an estimated USD 8.92billion in 2021.
Fantasy sports, and in particular fantasy football, engaged over 67 million people in 2020, up from 59 million people in 2019. Estimates of only 27 million participants in 2009 – and a mere 500,000 in 1988.
Demographics suggest that the primary fantasy football persona is male, with the majority having college degrees. And while more and more women are participating in fantasy sports, it’s still primarily male-dominated industry.
The interest in fantasy sports is led by paid weekly leagues, with DraftKings and FanDuel taking the lion’s share of interest. These companies offer payouts for weekly contests during the season, some of which pay out $1 million to the winner. Currently, 80% of States in America allow for legal fantasy sports gambling, so the numbers are only expected to increase in 2022 and beyond.
On average fantasy sports players spent USD 753 on league-related costs in 2020. And while most of these costs are for weekly league entries on various platforms for a chance to win a massive payday, there are various other ways players invest money in fantasy football.
Fantasy Draft Boards – This niche is led by 360 Fantasy Football Draft Boards (https://fantasyfootballdraftboard.net).
Best Ball Leagues – This unique style of a league can be seen at Underdog Fantasy ( https://underdogfantasy.com/).
Fantasy Football Apparel – Rotowear has a number of unique and compelling fantasy football shirts for men, women, and children.
Fantasy Football Insurance – Yes, you can buy insurance on players you draft in fantasy football. Rotosurance ( https://www.rotosurance.com) is just one of those companies.
The surging interest in fantasy sports is also having a compound effect on the real-life sport. Studies suggest that nearly 70% of fantasy sports players also watch more live sport due to their fantasy sports interest. The NFL draft is one of the most popular events of the year, in part due to the rise in interest in the fantasy sport.
The fantasy football industry is projected to grow by 10% in 2022, but this number may increase as more and more stadiums embrace fantasy football.
Which Fantasy Football Apps are most popular?
ESPN – The gold standard for many years, ESPN has a large customer base and one of the most intuitive apps out there. With many loyal users and a free platform to set up a new league, ESPN will remain a popular app for years to come.
Sleeper – This is a somewhat new app to the market, so the adoption rates are a bit lower. That said, Sleeper offers the best overall UX, is very responsive to customer feedback, and is quickly becoming the app of choice for fantasy players.
Yahoo – Similar to ESPN, this app has been around for many years and has many loyal customers. The Yahoo app allows for Best-Ball leagues, weekly tournaments, as well as daily management of your redraft league.
NFL – The official NFL app has made significant improvements over the years, but still remains a few notches below the other platforms.