Two years ago I asked a somewhat rhetorical question: is it possible to make money with a fantasy football side hustle? Thanks to more than a decade of data I’ve compiled on Mint, I found an answer for myself: Not really, but kind of. Here’s a look at my lifetime fantasy football earnings report as I embark upon another year in pursuit of fantasy football glory. For the purposes of this exercise only, I will consider myself an average fantasy football player. THIS EXERCISE ONLY.

Pouring over a decade of fantasy football earnings

It’s no surprise that I posed the question of fantasy football profitability in the year that I recorded my highest net profit. What accounted for this boost? Mainly, the variance all comes down to winning your league(s). Fantasy football leagues come in all shapes and sizes, as do the payouts. Generally speaking, the league winner is taking home at least half of the total entry fees, but usually much more. Oftentimes in fantasy football, if you ain’t first, you’re last. But if you’re first, you can be handsomely rewarded.

As you can see, I’m not a total degenerate risking thousands of dollars on fantasy football entry fees. I save that kind of rampant speculation for crypto dart throws, chasing meme stonks and paying Cathie Wood’s mortgage. In a typical year, I usually play anywhere from 2-4 season-long leagues, which still account for the majority of my EBITDA, but lately I’ve mixed in some daily fantasy contests to broaden my range of outcomes on any given weekend. After more than a decade of grinding away at this part-time job hobby, even I was a little surprised to see a net positive on my nearly $7,000 investment since 2010. But it’s hard to tout my fantasy football foray as a side hustle when I’ve lost money more often than not in a calendar year (seven out of 13).

The results of my lifetime fantasy football earnings

Am I getting better at fantasy football or have a I just been a little luckier lately? Maybe both. Maybe neither! In any case, I’ve had three-straight profitable years, and that includes the current year in which most of my dues have been paid but any winnings won’t be paid out until January. Prior to 2020, my lifetime earnings were about UNCH and I was fresh off of three consecutive seasons in the red.

The length of the season leads to a quirk in the data. In both of the big money years, the majority of the league took place in the previous fall/winter, but payouts were made in January the following year. As such, my ROI is a bit screwy for those years. For example, that big fat goose egg in 2013 is more a reflection of my poor fantasy decision-making in 2012, whereas my 2014 riches are owed to my 2013 prowess. But that’s beside the point.

Regardless of how you crunch the numbers, in 13 years of meticulously tracked spending on Mint, an average(ish) player such as myself has profited an average of $173.87 per year on various fantasy football endeavors. That amounts to an annualized rate of return of almost 4%! Take that, Ally! So it’s kind of, maybe, sort of a realistic low-yield investment given the sample size. Kind of. Now, broken down as an hourly wage, that equates to approximately… carry the one… a very unsustainable backup career path.

Adding best ball and daily fantasy to the equation

Another reason for the variance in fees and winnings comes from my newest addiction: daily fantasy. The Mint of daily fantasy sports is a site called Rototracker, which allows you to input up to 750 daily fantasy entries for free. In this screenshot from last year, you can again see that I’m not risking a ton of money, and there’s typically more red than green on the monthly chart. The notable outlier from this time last year came when I turned a $1 entry on a Monday Night Football entry into more than $300, tying for first place in the contest and tricking myself into thinking I’m good at this. Contrast these Rototracker charts with those of a professional fantasy football player, Adam Levitan of Establish The Run, and you’ll see some… slight differences.

Nonetheless, I love the added excitement of daily fantasy. I also play best ball leagues via Underdog Fantasy to help prepare for my “real” drafts, with the non-zero possibility that I actually win one of these them. Best ball is great because, after the draft, you need not actively manage the roster throughout the season. For my daily fantasy fix, I mostly play on DraftKings, which offers a variety of free contests and pools each week if you’re looking to dip your toe in the water. I have a slightly positive all-time ROI on DraftKings, and a hilariously negative ROI on my somewhat recent purchase of the company’s stock.

It’s probably a blessing in disguise that legalized gambling has not yet come to California, though I am kind of partial to the daily fantasy format that makes every entry feel like a lottery ticket. And I love a good lottery. Even still, at the risk of talking anything remotely political, Yes on Prop 27!

How do your lifetime fantasy football earnings compare?

Fantasy football has emerged from the shadows of society and into the mainstream, with football dorks no longer whispering in shame. Gone are the days of relying on the Monday edition of the USA Today for weekly results. So take the leap with me. Let’s see those fantasy football results! I know it feels a little personal to share these numbers. It’s like sharing only the most embarrassing part of my net worth (fortunately this does not account for a large percentage of said net worth). But I’d love to see more data on this intersection of football and finance.

What say you, fellow nerds? How do your lifetime fantasy football earnings compare? Or maybe you have a different nerdy hobby that’s yielded positive results over the long haul. Hey, if you know an easier way to make two grand very slowly and very erratically over a period of 13 years, I’m all ears.