Football season is upon us. And for many, that means fantasy football season. While the thirst for fantasy football isn’t quite as strong as it usually is this time of year, we still wanted to explore how to make money with a fantasy football side hustle.

Why fantasy football? For me, the two topics that I nerd out most on are personal finance and fantasy football. Why not merge the two worlds together to create a revenue stream? A quick Google search revealed that the great Physician on Fire already touched on the topic of fantasy football in the personal finance space, providing validation for the hobby within this community. And a hobby is simply a side hustle that hasn’t been monetized yet.

How can you make money on a fantasy football side hustle?

Fantasy football as a side hustle is a lot like poker—you have to be good at it for it to be profitable. Even then, there is a high chance of failure. There’s no guarantee you’ll make money, even if you do everything right. But when you do win, it’s usually in big spikes by winning your leagues (or a big poker tournament).

So, isn’t this basically like gambling? Sort of, but not exactly. In fantasy football, there are ways to stack the deck in your favor.

Fact is, most people do end up losing money on fantasy football. And that’s fine. Most people don’t necessarily look at it as a money-making enterprise. A hobby it shall remain for them. These hobbyists will likely be funding our side hustle pursuits.

Most people play fantasy football just for fun

The most common fantasy football leagues are those with and old group of friends or work colleagues, or some other random assortment of people who pop in and out of your life. If you take fantasy football more seriously than your fellow league members, you’ll have an advantage in these types of “home” leagues. Know the rules of the league, take time to prepare for the draft, remain diligent about managing your team in-season via trades and the waiver wire, and you’ll already be ahead of the game. While you may have an advantage, it won’t be enough for consistent results. There is simply too much variance and luck involved to guarantee a profit for yourself. Sometimes, it just doesn’t matter if you put in more time and effort than anyone else.

The key to making fantasy football a viable side hustle is about volume.

The more leagues you’re in, the better you can fight against the bad breaks that come about along the way. If you’re a somewhat informed fan, link up with as many of those aforementioned groups of people as possible. By joining their leagues, you’ll better your chances of taking home a big pay day. Since most league payouts are weighted heavily toward the league winner, it’s frequently an all-or-nothing endeavor. It’s not always winner-take-all, though, as most leagues award money for the runner-up and sometimes third place finisher or team with the best regular season record. It all depends on the league, but naturally the big pay day comes from winning the championship at the end of the season.

Daily Fantasy And Best Ball Leagues

Another route to take would be to familiarize yourself with the daily fantasy sports scene with sites such as FanDuel and DraftKings. If you are serious about fantasy sports a true side hustle, you’ll likely find yourself there.

With daily fantasy sites, you can play in daily/weekly contests that provide the instant gratification we all crave these days. But remember that you’ll be playing against other like-minded individuals who are seeking profits rather than using the league as a form of entertainment or office camaraderie. Stiffer competition does not bode well for guaranteed profits. In fact, profits are often few and far between for Average Joes. My advice: keep things low stakes on those sites while taking advantage of rewards programs or free entries into paid contests.

You can also try a Best Ball league, which would be akin to index fund investing in the personal finance space. You do the work at the beginning, drafting your team (selecting your fund), but there is no additional management throughout the season. The team you drafted is the team you’re riding with, no matter the injuries, roster movements or market fluctuations. This is a great way to widen your variety of leagues and players. Often with entry fees as low as $1 for a full season’s worth of entertainment.

Start a Fantasy Football Website

Finally, you can monetize fantasy football by means other than simply winning your leagues. Similar to the FIRE community, there are innumerable fantasy sports websites out there. In both cases, the cream tends to rise to the crop. If you’re passionate about it, a competent writer, and you provide valuable information, you can start a website and earn money through advertisements and affiliates. Or you can create a fantasy football draft kit to sell as an annual product. There’s a lot of work required in providing smart analysis, but if it’s something you enjoy anyway, it’s worth considering.

Much of what has been written in the personal finance community in regards to fantasy football revolves around a very loose connection between the two communities. No doubt, the purpose of many of these posts is to capitalize on the increasing popularity of fantasy football and collect a few clicks off of this niche market. Coming from the personal finance community, it’s nerd on nerd crime!

The parallels are a bit of a stretch, but what these posts often suggest is that there are lessons that you can take from your fantasy football hobby and apply to the personal finance space. Fantasy football and finance alike require doing your homework, having a strategy and simply paying attention.  

The Intersection of Fantasy Football and Personal Finance

The biggest commonality between the two groups, though, is that if you’re into either personal finance or fantasy football, chances are you are really into them. For those that are very much into fantasy football and don’t pay a lot of attention to their finances, these similarities are meant to demonstrate that the methods they utilize in their fantasy hobby can suit them well in managing their very real money.

Physician on Fire postulates that many people spend far more time on their hobbies than on their finances. Probably not breaking news. But when you think about how much money is at stake, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

I don’t have the data to support this theory, but it would be an interesting survey. I’d be willing to bet that most fantasy football players spend much more time on their fake football teams than their own finances. The game with dozens or hundreds of dollars at stake garners more attention than the other game where millions could be on the line.

He’s right. And that’s not limited to fantasy football. Ultimately, focusing on your main hustle rather than your side hustle is always going to be the optimum path to wealth accumulation. But we spend a lot of time on our side hustles because we enjoy doing them. Whatever your hobby, the eventual goal can be to turn your side hustle into your main hustle.

That’s likely not going to be the case for your fantasy sports hobby, though it has been done. Either way, there’s enough of a path to wealth that I do see fantasy football as a viable (and fun!) side hustle option.

Make Your Fantasy a Reality

If it’s something you enjoy, go ahead and join a few new fantasy football leagues this year. Experiment with daily fantasy sites, to a degree. Or, if you’re already doing the work anyway, go ahead and publish your player rankings in a new blog or online magazine.

Believe it or not, avenues do exist for consistent fantasy football revenue. It’s not for everyone, but it has been a small source of annual income for me. Better yet, fantasy football has provided a great form of entertainment and an easy way to stay in touch with friends and family.

Oftentimes, winning one league will pay for all of your other entry fees combined, and then some. The only thing better than making money is making money off of your close friends, family and officemates.