According to a report from the American Express Spending & Saving Tracker, 74.7 million Americans, about one-third of the “general population” have expressed plans to participate in a fantasy football league this season. About half (48%) expect to join one league and 41% plan to play in two or more leagues. Of the total, 22.9 million are women.
The majority of fantasy league players will be playing for money, and they expect to spend an average of $107 on fantasy leagues, while only 29% will be playing only for fun and bragging rights.
The most popular portal for players is ESPN. Some 54% of players say they will play in an ESPN league while 40% plan to participate in a Yahoo! Sports league and 29% expect to field a team in a CBS Sports league. More serious players apparently also gravitate to DraftKings, which attracts 19% of fantasy league players, of whom 85% will play for money and spend an average of $122 a week.
More than half (58%) of players expect to spend additional cash (an average of $64) on food, 48% say they will spend an average of $50 on non-alcoholic beverages and 47% expect to spend an average of $60 on alcoholic beverages.
Buying team gear will tap players’ wallets for another $65 on average, and a full third expect to spend an average of $147 on travel, presumably to watch a game.
The largest portion (20%) of fantasy league participants will play in NFL-based leagues only, with 7% playing in both NFL and college leagues. Just 5% plan to play only in college-based leagues.
And who will be a player’s top draft pick? A quarterback, of course. Some 57% will draft a quarterback first and 58% say that their first draft choice will be selected online. Nearly a third (32%) will make their first draft pick in person at someone’s house.
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