How much of the NFL would exist without fantasy football?

[tubby_mcgee 686]

What percent of the NFL is fantasy related?

Or in other words...if in 2021 fantasy football was eliminated/banned/gone, how much would it affect the NFL?

As you're thinking about this, rewind your brain back to what TV/Media Coverage is like from pre-season to week #10.  

[JustinCharge 2,397]

https://www.marketingcharts.com/industries/sports-industries-80768

https://thefsga.org/industry-demographics/

About half the population are sports fans.  So 175 million?  There are about 45 million fantasy players in the US which has been a stable number.  They are a good chunk of the sports fan universe but not all of it. 

The 1 demographic that seems to be abandoning the NFL are republicans and independents.  The numbers took a big hit.  And that was before BLM.  I don't know what the numbers are now.  Just a guess but the Kapernick issue has really turned off right wingers.

[avoiding injuries 1,220]

I watch more of the games after the fantasy season ends.
I’ve been trying to quit my last fantasy league for years. It’s all pretty much random luck now. 
I used to be able to research and prepare better than my league mates, but now everyone shows up to draft day with practically the same cheat sheet. 
Yeah, you can make waiver moves, trades and find random gems... but injuries, draft position and luck mostly determine the outcome. 

[Hawkeye21 1,852]

If fantasy football and sports betting were not a thing I think it would be very hard for them to survive right now.

[Utilit99 4,099]

25 minutes ago, Hawkeye21 said:

If fantasy football and sports betting were not a thing I think it would be very hard for them to survive right now.

Gotta agree. Just me alone, over the past 10 years  I have tuned into many many more games than I normally would have simply because of FF and gambling. I think I am the norm in that respect for the NFL.

[Kopy 489]

25 minutes ago, Hawkeye21 said:

If fantasy football and sports betting were not a thing I think it would be very hard for them to survive right now.

I agree. I (just my own .02) Believe fantasy + gambling takes up a good 50% of the interest.

25% is the diehards and the other 25% casuals. The NFL could never survive on just that. 

[Mungwater 588]

To be honest, I don’t know anyone who plays fantasy anymore.  Even the lame office leagues are gone

[nzoner 936]

40 minutes ago, Utilit99 said:

Gotta agree. Just me alone, over the past 10 years  I have tuned into many many more games than I normally would have simply because of FF and gambling. I think I am the norm in that respect for the NFL.

Agree,if it weren't for my cash fantasy league I'd watch the Chiefs and nothing more.

[edjr 5,556]

30 minutes ago, Mungwater said:

To be honest, I don’t know anyone who plays fantasy anymore.  Even the lame office leagues are gone

[TBayXXXVII 2,114]

Agree with most.  The NFL's popularity level is where it is, today, because of gambling.  Without Vegas and fantasy, the league's pull would be substantially less.

I'll even go to this step.  Had there never been sports betting, there never would have been fantasy football... and there never would have been this social justice movement.

[Mungwater 588]

I take what I said back, I only watch the NFL for a possibility of some dude in an oversized adidas shirt with some sweet sweet calves makes an appearance.  

[vuduchile 1,941]

Football drives fantasy and gambling.  Not the other way around. 

[TBayXXXVII 2,114]

No sports league today, would be what it is, without gambling.

[Hawkeye21 1,852]

12 minutes ago, vuduchile said:

Football drives fantasy and gambling.  Not the other way around. 

The NFL and fantasy need each other.  Gambling does not need the NFL.

[Hardcore troubadour 12,626]

2 hours ago, Mungwater said:

To be honest, I don’t know anyone who plays fantasy anymore.  Even the lame office leagues are gone

I think people playing in multiple leagues is keeping the numbers up. But case in point, my fiends sons are twenty somethings and we let them take over a team because they don’t have a league of their own. Their friends aren’t interested. 

[avoiding injuries 1,220]

Fantasy football is for losers now. 

[BeenHereBefore 1,332]

8 hours ago, avoiding injuries said:

Fantasy football is for losers now. 

This! I enjoyed it a lot back in the day and was good at it. I got out about 6 years ago. It ran it's course like everything and to mainstream now. I enjoyed betting this year even though I didn't win much. People that play it nowadays are like people that still sing Karaoke. Accept for the original Die Hard's.

[Big Guy 1,400]

13 hours ago, tubby_mcgee said:

What percent of the NFL is fantasy related?
 

well I am a Cowboy fan soooo......

[BeenHereBefore 1,332]

9 minutes ago, Big Guy said:

well I am a Cowboy fan soooo......

True peoples that teams aren't doing good may stay in it more then others.

[MTSkiBum 1,594]

I would prefer betting nfl to fantasy football, but the government is stupid.

I will be in my leagues till they fold at this point, I still look forward to the nfl draft every year because of dynasty leagues. I wish the IBL league would fold, it is too much work at this point, but i am not going to quit.

I am also slightly disappointed that i joined the dynasty league @edjr commished, but then bailed on. I took over a team that did not have first or second round rookie draft picks, and was the definition of suck and now the league "may" go one more year. Why take over a rebuilding dynasty team if half the league is not interested and 2 commishes quit in 3 years.

[edjr 5,556]

5 hours ago, MTSkiBum said:

I would prefer betting nfl to fantasy football, but the government is stupid.

I will be in my leagues till they fold at this point, I still look forward to the nfl draft every year because of dynasty leagues. I wish the IBL league would fold, it is too much work at this point, but i am not going to quit.

I am also slightly disappointed that i joined the dynasty league @edjr commished, but then bailed on. I took over a team that did not have first or second round rookie draft picks, and was the definition of suck and now the league "may" go one more year. Why take over a rebuilding dynasty team if half the league is not interested and 2 commishes quit in 3 years.

10 years is long enough and I left a very good team. Did Pete Rozelle bail on the NFL?  

[tubby_mcgee 686]

21 hours ago, Mungwater said:

To be honest, I don’t know anyone who plays fantasy anymore.  Even the lame office leagues are gone

And less people watch NFL, also, that are simply watching for the love of watching pro football. 

[edjr 5,556]

19 hours ago, avoiding injuries said:

Fantasy football is for losers now. 

it depends on the fee of the league. 

[Cruzer 1,992]

20 hours ago, TBayXXXVII said:

No sports league today, would be what it is, without gambling.

Maybe team sports. But even then, I feel like soccer (as global as it is) would survive w/out gambling. 

I also feel golf and the PGA Tour would get by just fine. 

[TBayXXXVII 2,114]

2 hours ago, Cruzer said:

Maybe team sports. But even then, I feel like soccer (as global as it is) would survive w/out gambling. 

I also feel golf and the PGA Tour would get by just fine. 

I was mostly talking about those sports.  Soccer still wouldn't benefit here.  There's just not enough interest.  Individual sports will be ok, but let's be honest, it's not like they're massive draws to begin with.  Golf probably is the only one that comes to mind as sport that might benefit from it because some of the gamblers who would leave the team sports may focus on a sport like golf.