Fantasy Football Facts and Statistics for 2025
Last Updated on: May 29th, 2025
Here are a few of the most interesting Fantasy Football facts and statistics I was able to dig up in my internet travels. As always, be sure to check back in the future as I will be updating this post as new and updated stats become available.
Fantasy Football is a game in which participants assemble an imaginary team of real-life football players and score points based on the players’ actual statistical performance on the field. While the concept of Fantasy Football can be traced back to the 1950s, the game as it is played today has its roots in the early 1960s.
In 1962, a group of businessmen from Oakland, California, formed the Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League (GOPPPL), which is widely regarded as the first organized Fantasy Football league. The league’s founders, including Bill Winkenbach and Bill Tunnell, created the basic rules of Fantasy Football, such as drafting players and using their actual stats to score points.
The first Fantasy Football draft was held in August 1963, with eight teams competing in the inaugural GOPPPL season. The league continued to grow in popularity over the years, and in 1969, it was renamed the National Fantasy Football League (NFFL).
The game remained largely a niche hobby until the early 1990s, when the internet and advancements in technology allowed for easier and more widespread participation. In 1997, CBS Sportsline became the first major sports website to offer online Fantasy Football, and the game quickly exploded in popularity.
Today, Fantasy Football is played by millions of people around the world, with various formats and scoring systems available to accommodate different preferences and skill levels. The game has also spawned numerous spinoffs and variations, such as Fantasy Baseball and Fantasy Basketball.
Fantasy Football Statistics and Fun Facts
Year that fantasy football started:
Number of people who play fantasy football:
60 million fantasy football owners
Last updated 9/8/18
Average age of a fantasy sports player:
Percentage of fantasy sports players that are men:
Percentage of fantasy sports players that are not married:
Percentage of fantasy sport players that consider football their favorite game:
Estimated amount that fantasy football costs employers in lost productivity:
Average amount of time spent by workers researching fantasy football in the office:
Number of results returned on a search of “fantasy football tips” in Google:
about 14 million
Estimated value of the fantasy football market:
Number of teams drafted during ESPN’s Fantasy Football marathon in 2018:
So there you have it. Hopefully you now know 10 more things about fantasy football than you did 10 minutes ago.
Please note that some of these numbers are easier to find than others. Most of these fun facts come from internet reports and may not be official tallies. No information contained on DMR should be relied upon to make investment decisions. Basically, this is the best I can find and I don’t guarantee anything to be 100%.
