This time of year, millions of accountants, lawyers and other white-collar workers are adding a new title to their job description: general manager.
General manager of a fantasy football team, that is.
An estimated 32.2 million people in the country play fantasy football, according to a study released last week by research and job-placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The growing base of fantasy gamers has transformed the once-obscure pastime into a much-targeted industry, with mainstream companies like Doug las County-based EchoStar Communications Corp. offering services aimed at the fantasy audience.
“We’ve progressed from a gambling hobby to a legitimate industry,” said Greg Ambrosius, president of Fantasy Sports Trade Association, or FSTA.
In most fantasy sports, gamers act as general managers, compiling a roster of real professional players through a draft. The performances of those players determine the winners and losers of a fantasy league.
The average fantasy player is a 37-year-old, white-collar male who makes $76,000 annually, according to the FSTA.
“It’s a very valuable demographic of users,” said Jeffrey Gerttula, general manager of online games for Sporting News. “We’ve seen a lot more mainstream media covering the industry, where in the past it’s been restricted to specific fantasy sports sites.”
Fox Sports offers the weekly “Ultimate Fantasy Football” television show, while Sirius Satellite Radio runs a three-hour fantasy football show. Echo Star’s Dish Network offers fantasy racing and a football pick-em challenge on its interactive satellite-television channel.
With growing interest in fantasy content, EchoStar is considering adding other sports such as baseball and even cricket, said Scott Higgins, director of interactive programming for EchoStar and co-founder of FSTA.
While the fantasy craze may be a boon for marketers, it is a bust for employers.
Challenger’s study estimates that the game will cost employers $196.1 million in lost productivity this year, as players spend work time researching for drafts, reading injury reports and setting roster lineups.
John Stevenson, who works with retirement plans for TIAA-CREF in Denver, estimates that he’ll spend about an hour during the work week on his fantasy football team.
“I would die without it,” said Stevenson, 27, who has played fantasy football since 1999.
While the vast majority of players are men, a growing number of women are entering the fray.
FSTA estimates that 7 percent of fantasy gamers are women. Among them is Denver resident Kristin Battenfield, who has played fantasy football for four years.
“It’s so much fun,” said Battenfield, 31, who works for Lamar Outdoor Advertising in Denver. “It just makes every game interesting.”
She said she’ll probably spend about 10 minutes a week during work to change her lineups.
While fantasy football may cut into productivity, employers shouldn’t ban the activity, said John Challenger, chief executive of Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
“The damage to morale and loyalty resulting from a fantasy football ban could be far worse than the damage caused by 10 minutes of online team management,” Challenger said.
“There are many distractions in the workplace everyday, and another 10 minutes is not going to make or break a company.”
Staff writer Andy Vuong can be reached at 303-820-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com.
