Fantasy football is a game where participants own their franchises and make a squad with players of their preference.The leagues offer competition and the chance to manage your own team and socialize with other fans. Fantasy football is divided into traditional or keeper leagues and daily fantasy sports.The excitement around fantasy football revolves around the cash prizes awarded to fantasy team owners. This is often a part of the discussion around the game as it promotes gambling which can be extremely addictive. Players delve deep into the world of football to thoroughly research teams and players that are up and coming or focus on achieving the best possible combination to get the best of their franchises. Today, the fantasy football industry is estimated at a market value of 18.6 billion dollars!Fantasy football provides players with the overall control needed to create a team that is ultimately the best, using several players from other football teams. The fans’ knowledge plays a huge part in the creation of teams as you are required to know which players to draft and who you should avoid. Players spend countless hours learning about the business side of the game and gaining the knowledge of scouts to draft worthy players. A complex knowledge of the injuries, weather conditions is additional knowledge that can come in handy when the drafts begin.If you like this article about fantasy football facts, be sure to check out articles about Ohio State Football facts and Gaelic football facts too!History Of Fantasy FootballFantasy football first emerged in 1962, when then part-owner of the Oakland Raiders football team, Bill Winkenbach, together with some of his friends, created the first fantasy football league in New York. The league was termed GOPPPL (Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League). The concept of the first league was simple and had league members draft players to their fantasy franchises, and the players would be awarded points based on their performance in real-life games. The members competed against each other for the title of champion based on the final total points by the end of the season.The term ‘fantasy’ originates from the idea of the creation of an unbelievable or hypothetical team that would be impossible to achieve in real life.Fantasy leagues exist for various sports, but fantasy football is seen as the most popular in the US. An estimated 59.3 million people across America and Canada are involved in the game. The actual game is very much free to play, but most leagues put down some money used to wager from the beginning of the season, and the champion receives a certain amount at the end of the season.Championships: Fantasy FootballThe championship period of the fantasy football league is also known as the ‘Fantasy Bowl.’ These versions of fantasy football follow the same elimination format of the NFL Playoffs.Winners of the Fantasy Super Bowl receive a large payout in some leagues where payments are separated equally. In some leagues, the winner gets all the money in the pot. Some leagues have a 50-30-20 payout which sees the winner take 50 percent of the total money, the runner-up wins 30 percent of the money, and the remaining 20 percent is awarded to the 3rd placed participant.The payout system for these championship leagues is dependant on the people administrating them, because of which the payout system differs from league to league.Football Clubs: Fantasy FootballBoth the teams from the National Football Conference and American Football Conference are available for selection in fantasy football. There are 16 teams in each conference that are separated into four divisions.The National Football Conference consists of the teams Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Football Team (formerly known as the Washington Redskins), Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints.The American Football Conference consists of the teams Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Jacksonville Jaguars.Achievements: Fantasy FootballIn 2020, Deshaun Watson finished the season with his NFL career bests in total touchdowns (36), total passes (33), passing yards (4,823), completion percentage (70.2), yards per attempt (8.9), and fantasy points (369.3).2020 saw Tom Brady break several records in the history of Fantasy Football! The 43- year old finished the season with 43 total touchdowns, 4,633 passing yards, and 337.9 fantasy points. Brady even broke the total fantasy points held by Jerry Rice by scoring 5,147.9 points during the season.Justin Jefferson was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 2020 and would score 274.2 fantasy points in his rookie season. These numbers were good enough to be compared to other rookie receivers in the Super Bowl era like Randy Moss, Anquan Boldin, and Odell Beckham Jr. Jefferson also set a rookie record in his debut season with 1,400 receiving yards, making him a standout rookie in NFL history. The record was previously held by Anquan Boldin’s 1,377 yards during his rookie season in 2003 for Arizona Cardinals.LaDainian Tomlinson, regarded as one of the greatest running backs ever in the game’s history, had the best fantasy football season with the most fantasy points ever in the 2006 season! Playing for the San Diego Chargers, he scored an astonishing 427 points.In 2020, CeeDee Lamb, playing for the Dallas Cowboys, scored 217.7 fantasy points and finished as the WR22. This number was good enough for him to be considered the 18th best Wide Receiver in the Super Bowl era. Lamb averaged 17.7 fantasy points in his first five games as he played alongside Cowboys starting quarterback Dak Prescott.Rob Gronkowski holds the record for the most fantasy points scored by a tight end in the 2011 season. This record was almost broken by Travis Kelce in 2020 when he scored 312.8 points in the season and finished as the top tight end for the fifth successive season. Kelce also set a new NFL record with his 1,416 receiving yards.Throughout his short NFL career, Atlanta Falcons Julio Jones averaged an amazing 95.5 receiving yards per game!Based on the Fantasy Football World Championships average draft data, Green Bay Packers’ Robert Tonyan was not even selected in most of the 2020 drafts. However, his 11 touchdown catches tied him with Travis Kelce for the league lead in the tight end position. His 11 touchdown catches also tied him with Paul Coffman, who previously held the team’s record.Jerry Rice is considered one of the best fantasy players ever! From 1986 to 1995, he finished as the best wide receiver and in the top-five of any positions in the fantasy football era. In 1987, he became the first wide receiver to have scored more fantasy points than a running back.Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans scored 304.7 fantasy points in 2020, making it the most points scored by a running back.The year 1990 saw NFL introducing the bye weeks into the schedule of the regular season. The popularity of the bye weeks led to the trial of the two bye weeks for each of the NFL teams in 1993.Mike Gesicki of the Miami Dolphins averaged 9.7 fantasy points with 18 catches and 30 targets in his first six appearances of the 2020 season alongside under center Ryan Fitzpatrick. Gesicki averaged 16.6 fantasy points in the final four games with 34 targets alongside quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.Alvin Kamara of New Orleans Saints led all running backs with 377.8 fantasy points in the 2020 season. Dalvin Cook trailed him with 327.8 points! Kamara averaged around 25.2 fantasy points per game, and in nine of his 15 matches, he scored 20+ points.James Robinson of Jacksonville Jaguars ranked 46th among the drafted running backs in 2020. He scored 250.4 fantasy points during the season and ranked seventh among running backs with an average of 17.9 points per game.Keenan Allen of the Los Angeles Chargers finished seventh in the wide receiver position with an average of 17.5 points per game. His productivity rose further playing alongside quarterback Justin Herbert, and he ranked fifth with an average of 18.3 fantasy points per game.Since 2019, the San Francisco 49ers are ranked third in rushing touchdowns, sixth in rushing yards, and fifth in rushing attempts.The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, Jalen Hurts, averaged 25.2 fantasy points in the three games he played for the Eagles in the 2020 season. Given his stunning display, it was estimated that he would have finished the season with 1,200 rushing yards and 400 fantasy points throughout an entire 16-game season.The 2008 season produced some of the best running backs in the modern-day! The rookie class of 2008 included players like Justin Forsett, Chris Johnson, Ray Rice, Jonathan Stewart, Darren McFadden, who would feature for several years as running backs in the game.Playing against the Dallas Cowboys in a game on December 18, 2005, former Redskins Tight End caught three touchdown passes in the fantasy week 15, which in turn, ended up knocking his own team out of the fantasy playoffs as his opponent owned him!Mark Sanchez is one of the renowned stars in the world of the NFL and holds several records to his name. Sanchez was the first rookie quarterback to win his first three starts. He also holds the record for the most consecutive appearance in a conference championship game to kickstart a career with two appearances.Fantasy Football RulesTo participate in the season-long league of fantasy football, set rules and regulations have to be followed by the players.The participation usually begins after you register on various different websites with your accomplices or strangers. You can give your team after successful registration and own it.Before the start of the season, a draft is held by the other owners, and you where you get to choose the NFL players that are desirable for your team. Each player can be selected only in one team in a league. After the draft is over, the season goes on; you can play around with various combinations of players to get as many points as possible during the season. Underperforming players are often traded with other players or are eventually dropped altogether.For each game day of the regular season, you choose starters from a subset of players. The team usually consists of two wide receivers, two running backs, one quarterback, a kicker, a tight end, and the defense. These numbers are variable depending on the league you end up joining. Players who are weak or injured are often switched with healthy players by fantasy owners or during the bye week (each team has a week off during the season).Each game week, your team’s starters will go up against another team owned by a different owner in the same league. Points are awarded for field goals, touchdowns, yards, and other stats produced by your players in real-life games. The same goes for your opponent. At the end of game week, the team with the most points is awarded a win, and this practice goes on for the whole season, by the end of which, a champion is chosen.There are many DOs and DONTs in the world of fantasy football that are aimed at players to give them the best experience.Drafting too early is unwarranted and should be avoided as you might miss out on late-drafted players, or someone who you have already chosen might get injured. It is always advised to draft as late as possible.A lot of people wait until the end to draft a kicker. However, a good kicker can average 10-16 points per game. So you should never really underestimate the importance of a kicker in your team.Another aspect of playing the game well is knowing that last year’s success will not be the same as the future season. Carefully research players and do not stick to a set of players you had during the previous season.Many people in the fantasy football world often do not select a defense at all! It is suggested to pick a good defense in the middle of the later rounds that will hopefully pay dividends as the season progresses.Did You Know?Many free fantasy football platforming sites offer fans a chance to get into the world of fantasy football. Yahoo Fantasy Football is one of the most popular and has been a part of the fantasy sports world for a long time. The website offers real-time tracking of sites, meaning you will not need to refresh your tablet or phone every minute.ESPN Fantasy Football is yet another free Fantasy Football site that provides fans a chance to learn and enjoy fantasy football easily. One of the best features of ESPN Fantasy Football is the weekly report card that is sent out containing recaps of the week’s games and banter among fans!There are several mobile apps that will help you begin your journey in the world of fantasy football. Apps like ESPN Fantasy Football, Yahoo Fantasy & Daily Sports, and NFL Fantasy Football are used by players all around the country. All you need is to register yourself on the app and start playing after drafting your preferred team.The Levi’s Stadium in San Fransico became one of the first teams ever to offer a Fantasy Football lounge in the stadium.In the mid-to-late 1990s, athletes and talk show hosts often publicly shamed fantasy players and termed them inept and ignorant with no knowledge of how the game worked. Eventually, the hobby kept growing, and big names started noticing the direction fantasy football took. Sponsors lined up to cater to the needs of the large group of people who participated. The entire community became fans as years passed and the sport grew!Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created many interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 191 Fun Fantasy Football Facts That Will Be Of Interest To You! then why not take a look at facts about the Brazil world cup or world cup facts?
Fantasy football is a game where participants own their franchises and make a squad with players of their preference.
