More than one-fifth of all Americans ages 13 and up (22%) said they plan to play fantasy football in the upcoming 2021 NFL season.
Preference for full-season fantasy leagues and daily fantasy games was evenly split, with 7% of Americans only joining season-long leagues, 7% only playing daily games, and 8% doing both.
Perhaps surprisingly, more than 4 in 10 of all prospective fantasy football players this year are female.
Fantasy football players are also far more diverse than those who don’t play fantasy.
Additionally, Americans under age 35 are a whopping six times more likely to be fantasy football players than those ages 35 and older. To put it another way, fantasy football — whether it’s season-long leagues or daily fantasy games — reaches about half of all Americans under age 35.
Spending Time (and Risking Money) In the Online World
Fantasy football players are also more in tune with the digital economy than other Americans. That includes cryptocurrency, online sports betting, NFTs, mobile payments, and online banking.
Differences Between Fantasy League Players and Daily Fantasy Players
There’s a clear difference between those who play in season-long fantasy football leagues and those who play daily fantasy games on Sundays.
In short, league players tend to be more white, more male, older, and wealthier than daily fantasy players, who are more diverse.
Daily fantasy players are typically more active on social media platforms than season-long players.
Daily fantasy players are also more likely than league players to say that social media video ads influence their purchases more than TV ads.
Fantasy football players are young, diverse, and not as male-dominant as one might expect — particularly among daily fantasy players. They’re also well-versed in all aspects of the digital economy, including cryptocurrency, online sports betting, and NFTs. Social media advertising would be especially effective at reaching daily fantasy players.
