Football fantasies: Draft parties, celebrities, research take real money

The onetime cottage industry of fantasy football, like the juggernaut NFL that spawned it, keeps getting bigger, crazier — and more expensive.

With the NFL set to return to action Thursday night, when the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Baltimore Ravens, fantasy owners are fine-tuning their rosters for Week 1. Bragging rights and, increasingly, big money are hanging in the balance.

Side bets are offered, and adding a player from the waiver wire comes at a cost. Entry fees are rising, and trophies are becoming gaudier. The most competitive players shell out money for insider newsletters and statistical analysis subscriptions that help fantasy owners pick their teams and prepare for the season.

Some fantasy leagues are hiring notable sports broadcasters to add celebrity razzle-dazzle to draft night parties. A generation ago, a typical draft party was little more than a group of football nerds hanging out in recliners in the basement.

A 2023 report from the Fantasy Sports and Gaming Association found almost 63 million players in the U.S. and Canada. The average player spends $572 on fantasy football each year, turning the hobby into an estimated $11 billion national industry.

The pastime drains more money from the American economy than it generates. Some economists estimate that lost productivity in U.S. workplaces costs as much as $16 billion.

“The biggest investment is time,” said Paul Charchian, a fantasy football expert who founded the Guillotine Leagues website. “You have a $50 entry fee for a league that drafts in August and runs through January. You are going to pour 1,000 hours into that league. That cost per hour is like a nickel.”

Mr. Charchian said fantasy football has never had a “down year.”

Celebrities on demand

The fantasy football business is booming on Cameo, a digital marketplace where fans can pay for short, personalized videos from athletes and celebrities.

The service is used predominantly for birthday wishes and congratulatory messages, but fantasy football leagues hire sports celebrities such as analyst Matthew Berry, “NFL RedZone” host Scott Hanson and former coach Jon Gruden to juice up their parties.

Mr. Hanson can earn hundreds of dollars for a few minutes of work: announcing the annual draft order, providing updates on the standings or even delivering talk trash midseason.

“I figured there was at least a niche that would want to hear me say their names,” said Mr. Hanson, noting that fans are used to him calling touchdowns from NFL stars on Sundays. “I didn’t know the tidal waves that would follow.”

Inside info

When spending thousands of hours on a hobby, what’s a few hundred dollars here or there? After all, fantasy players often spend decades in their leagues.

Fantasy football players have an increasing variety of ways to spend their money. Want a step ahead of the competition? Pro Football Focus provides comprehensive data for the NFL’s 32 franchises. Fantasy owners can get a taste of that for $120 per year.

Experts from ESPN+ will deliver weekly insight to a fantasy player’s inbox for $110 annually. Fans of Mr. Berry can drop $100 for a year of “Fantasy Life+,” which features a draft guide and waiver wire suggestions throughout the season.

The average fantasy football player invested $125 on advice or premium statistics last year. That’s a small price to pay for glory on the virtual gridiron.

“Somebody who won their fantasy league four or five years ago, they remember that they won. They can’t remember what they spent their winnings on,” Mr. Charchian said. “But they’ll be very happy to tell you how they won, who was on their roster, what went right.”

Goodbye basement, hello Vegas

The highly anticipated annual draft parties often feature a get-together with friendship, football and alcohol. According to the Fantasy Gaming & Sports Association, more than 80% of players participate in some kind of draft party, which costs an average of $584.

For many leagues, the days of drafting in a garage are over. Some fantasy players opt for a long weekend in exotic locations such as Las Vegas, where companies including Sin City VIP offer premium packages. For $175 per person, a league can host its draft party at the Hard Rock Cafe on the Vegas Strip. For an additional $350, a “stunning, friendly and charismatic” model will host the event.

Remote or homebound fantasy leagues have other ways of spicing up the yearly draft.

Enter Mr. Hanson. The host of “NFL RedZone” has been a fantasy football staple since the program debuted in 2009. Although many fans opt for a traditional experience, more viewers are tuning into “RedZone,” where Mr. Hanson guides the audience through every scoring play from every game on an NFL Sunday.

The program is a perfect match for fantasy football, where players might care more about the athletes on their imaginary team than their hometown squad.

“I 100% knew that ‘RedZone’ would be a massive hit with fantasy football players before we ever went on air,” Mr. Hanson said. “Let’s say the Packers are your favorite team. I guarantee that your second favorite is your fantasy football team.”

Since 2020, Mr. Hanson has created customized videos for sports fans through Cameo. Most of his requests relate to fantasy football. Whether announcing a draft order, checking in on an underperforming team or congratulating a winner, the host of “NFL RedZone” takes his job seriously.

“It’s a big responsibility and a big blessing to sit in the captain’s chair for people’s fantasy football experience,” he said. “I’m the voice and face of dopamine hits when their guy scores a touchdown and the lamentations that are felt when somebody scores against them.”

True to his word, each Hanson cameo features the fanfare and aplomb that the broadcaster uses on Sundays.

“I know some of these fantasy football players see me as ‘Touchdown Santa Claus,’” Mr. Hanson said. “I bring them something they value, and I want to give them all that I got.”

Pandemic bump

The demand for niche voices such as those of Mr. Hanson, Mr. Gruden and Mr. Berry has exploded since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. When fantasy football leagues couldn’t host draft parties in person, they called on minor football celebrities to inject joy into the process.

The leagues keep coming back.

Mr. Hanson said he has had to increase his rates several times since 2020 to keep up with the demand. A fantasy football player himself, Mr. Hanson now charges $260 per video.

Fantasy football has become a reliable revenue stream for hired guns such as Mr. Charchian and Mr. Hanson. With the number of football fans and fantasy players growing yearly, they say the industry and its rabid fan base are here to stay.

“Even if something catastrophic were to happen like a recession … the industry would survive it,” Mr. Charchian said. “I just don’t see any threats to fantasy sports coming.”