Fantasy football fever, today, has topped temperatures of yesteryear–and growing furiously each season. The three major players of Yahoo, CBS, and ESPN comprise what’s a $1.5 billion industry, per research firm IBISWorld.
The internet, virtually since its inception, spurred the stunning interest and growth of fantasy football’s fan-driven participation. The NFL, for their part, helped drive this forward by building a real-time, in-game stats system in the late 1990s, which provided instant data to the leagues that so many fans were joining. These fantasy leagues have enabled fans to, in effect, operate as general managers and head coaches themselves; they can make decisions that impact player acquisitions and starting lineups akin to what’s done by professionals on Sundays.