A Small Idea Turns Into One Big Thing
Since fantasy football came into existence in 1962, it has grown significantly. In 1998, 500,000 people played fantasy football, in 2000, two million people played and in 2012, 25.8 million people played fantasy football. Fantasy football is on the rise for youth and women. When did this chaos all start and how much are they paying to play?
Fantasy football started in 1962 inside of a New York City hotel room. The men who created it were Wilfred "Bill" Winkenbach, an Oakland area businessman and a limited partner in the Oakland Raiders, Bill Tunnels, a Raiders public relations man, and Scotty Starling, a tribune reporter. The name of the league they made was the,"Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League." The league had eight players in it and it was based on the AFL and the NFL. The rules were 25 points for a touchdown pass, run, or catch, 25 points for a field goal, 10 points for a PAT, and 200 points for a defense or special teams score. The players on the team was made up of 4 WRs, 4 HBs, 2 FBs, 2 QBs, 2 return men, 2 K, 2 DBs/LBs, and 2 DEs. The fantasy football that we play today is based off of this system.
Fantasy football is changing everyday. An example is how fantasy football is scored a little bit differently than it was in 1962. Today on Yahoo!, a starting line up consists of 1 QB; 3 WR; 2 RB; 1 TE; 1 K; 1 DEF/ST. Here is a basic run through of how it is scored: QB- passing touchdown: 4 points, QB- 25 passing yards: 1 point, Kickers- 3 points for field goals 0-39 yards, Kickers- 40-49 yard field goal: 4 points, Kickers- 50+ yard field goal: 5, Kicker- PAT: 1, Defensive- touchdown: 6 points, Defense- Interception: 2 points, WR/RB: 10 receiving/rushing yards: 1 point, WR/RB- receiving/rushing touchdown: 6 points.
Another way Fantasy is changing, is the number of women participating. Women playing fantasy football on Yahoo! has grown from just 8% of the users in 2009, to 20% of its users in 2012. Yahoo! gained 200,000 women going from 2011 to 2012. Most people believe that the number of women participating in fantasy football is increasing because fantasy football is thought to be more family friendly, therefore appealing to this group. 13% of all adults (both genders, age 18+) played fantasy sports in the last year, whereas 20% of all teens (age 12-17) played. This shows how fantasy is appealing to both the youth and the older generation. This is helping to boost the value of the industry of fantasy football. In 2012, participants spent $1.6 billion on products and services in the fantasy sports space. These products and services include draft kits, and TV shows like NFL RedZone. They also paid $1.44 billion in entry fees to get into private leagues. Around 46.9% of all participants of legal age pay to play fantasy sports, which includes fantasy football. The fantasy football industry is worth almost $1.5 billion dollars annually. This number is expected to rise in upcoming years with more people participating.
Fantasy football is changing and growing everyday. Every year the number grows for both men and women, young and old. For more information regarding the demographics of fantasy and more stunning facts regarding the people who play it, visit the diagrams page.
Fantasy football started in 1962 inside of a New York City hotel room. The men who created it were Wilfred "Bill" Winkenbach, an Oakland area businessman and a limited partner in the Oakland Raiders, Bill Tunnels, a Raiders public relations man, and Scotty Starling, a tribune reporter. The name of the league they made was the,"Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League." The league had eight players in it and it was based on the AFL and the NFL. The rules were 25 points for a touchdown pass, run, or catch, 25 points for a field goal, 10 points for a PAT, and 200 points for a defense or special teams score. The players on the team was made up of 4 WRs, 4 HBs, 2 FBs, 2 QBs, 2 return men, 2 K, 2 DBs/LBs, and 2 DEs. The fantasy football that we play today is based off of this system.
Fantasy football is changing everyday. An example is how fantasy football is scored a little bit differently than it was in 1962. Today on Yahoo!, a starting line up consists of 1 QB; 3 WR; 2 RB; 1 TE; 1 K; 1 DEF/ST. Here is a basic run through of how it is scored: QB- passing touchdown: 4 points, QB- 25 passing yards: 1 point, Kickers- 3 points for field goals 0-39 yards, Kickers- 40-49 yard field goal: 4 points, Kickers- 50+ yard field goal: 5, Kicker- PAT: 1, Defensive- touchdown: 6 points, Defense- Interception: 2 points, WR/RB: 10 receiving/rushing yards: 1 point, WR/RB- receiving/rushing touchdown: 6 points.
Another way Fantasy is changing, is the number of women participating. Women playing fantasy football on Yahoo! has grown from just 8% of the users in 2009, to 20% of its users in 2012. Yahoo! gained 200,000 women going from 2011 to 2012. Most people believe that the number of women participating in fantasy football is increasing because fantasy football is thought to be more family friendly, therefore appealing to this group. 13% of all adults (both genders, age 18+) played fantasy sports in the last year, whereas 20% of all teens (age 12-17) played. This shows how fantasy is appealing to both the youth and the older generation. This is helping to boost the value of the industry of fantasy football. In 2012, participants spent $1.6 billion on products and services in the fantasy sports space. These products and services include draft kits, and TV shows like NFL RedZone. They also paid $1.44 billion in entry fees to get into private leagues. Around 46.9% of all participants of legal age pay to play fantasy sports, which includes fantasy football. The fantasy football industry is worth almost $1.5 billion dollars annually. This number is expected to rise in upcoming years with more people participating.
Fantasy football is changing and growing everyday. Every year the number grows for both men and women, young and old. For more information regarding the demographics of fantasy and more stunning facts regarding the people who play it, visit the diagrams page.