Since the 1960s, NFL fans have played a game that allows them the opportunity to act as football team managers, they can drafting players from across the league to create a single team that earns points based on how those players perform in real games.
However, it wasn’t until the late 1990s and early 2000s that the game gained widespread popularity after moving to an online platform, giving fans on added incentives to follow the league.
Sept. 4, officially kicked off the 2025 NFL season, and fantasy owners everywhere were ready—whether their teams were auto-drafted or carefully selected. This trend isn’t just a social ritual; fantasy participation significantly boosts NFL viewership and engagement across the board.
Research from the Fantasy Sports Trade Association indicates that the multibillion-dollar industry motivates nearly two-thirds of fantasy football participants to watch more NFL games because of their fantasy teams, and that almost 60 million people in the United States participate each year. According to new player Rey Hernandez, fantasy football helps grow the sport by drawing in fans who might not have been as engaged before.
“It really got me close to it. I was not the biggest fan…but this really brought me more into the sport,” Hernandez said.
For him, tracking players and managing a fantasy team adds an extra layer of excitement to the season, turning every game into a personal stake.
A 2025 study from Western Michigan University found that, regardless of location, playing fantasy football consistently strengthened fans’ identification with the NFL.
On the other hand, research from Temple University shows that nearly half of fantasy football participants sometimes prioritize the success of their fantasy team over their actual NFL team they root for.
Some fans argue that fantasy football’s focus on individual stats and player performance can undermine team-first loyalties. Two fantasy-playing friends, Emilian Andrade Fuentes and Jay Acuna, shared similar perspectives.
“Fantasy strips the actual love and purpose of the game… a lot of people really just pick players depending on stories they hear,” Fuentes said. “Nobody will actually see the kind of stuff he does…they just ignore the actual game and look at social media or fantasy points.”
Acuna echoed the concern: “Depending on how the players perform, a bunch of stories get out there, and there’s a lot of criticism on the players…you can’t really put that much on the player, there are a bunch of different factors that go into the game,” Acuna said.
While these shifts in fan loyalty may seem minor, there are more serious consequences. In some cases, fantasy-related frustrations have been linked to threats and harassment of players, showing how the virtual stakes can spill over into real life.
Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery revealed that online abuse from fantasy football managers led him to contemplate suicide during his rookie season with the Chicago Bears in 2019.
Similarly, in 2024, a Philadelphia man, Matthew Gabriel, pleaded guilty to making false bomb and mass shooting threats against a rival in his fantasy football league. Gabriel’s shenanigans triggered international investigations, demonstrating how virtual competition can escalate into real-life dangers.
Nonetheless, the NFL and media industry have embraced the influence of fantasy football, intertwining it directly into broadcasts and coverage to maximize profits.
Fantasy-centric segments, live stat overlays, and scheduling designed to highlight relevant matchups have become standard in the industry, while advertisers and the league tie their revenue strategies increasingly to the fantasy market.
As the rest of the 2025 season unfolds, one thing is clear: fantasy football has become inseparable from the NFL experience.
For some fans, it creates a deeper connection to the sport, while for others, it blurs the lines of loyalty and places “unwarranted” pressure on players. Whether it enhances or diminishes the season may depend less on the league and more on how fans choose to engage with the game.
Cameron Mason is a staff reporter for The Prospector and can be reached at [email protected]
