NFL Fantasy Games

• According to a Harris Interactive poll in 2004, almost 30 million Americans play fantasy sports; and the average player spends $110 a year on each sport in which he takes part. NFL football joins basketball, baseball, college football, tennis, golf and NASCAR as fantasy sports games Americans play. The first fantasy football league began in 1963, created by Oakland businessperson Bill Winkenbach, and the game has grown throughout the years. As of 2010, magazines, television shows and satellite radio networks concentrate on the games.
  
  

Seasonal Fantasy Football Leagues

• Fantasy football seasons normally begin from mid-July to late August, during preseason football play. Leagues of anywhere from six to 16 teams form, and the fantasy owners prepare for their yearly draft. The draft usually takes place in a specific location, although the Internet makes it possible to play fantasy football with friends from around the world by drafting in a chat room or through a message board. Many websites also offer fantasy football games in which fantasy owners can play against complete strangers for prizes or sometimes just for fun.
  
  

The Draft

• Each team selects a group of players in the draft, playing the part of an NFL General Manager, assembling a team of current NFL players. Most leagues start a quarterback, a specific number of running backs and wide receivers, a tight end, a kicker and a defensive unit. Other leagues draft individual defensive players instead of a defensive unit. Some leagues do not have a personal draft and instead have fantasy owners rank the players they want and a computer drafts the players for them.
  
  

Game Play

• During the season, fantasy football owners play the role of head coach and General Manager, choosing their starting lineups and making roster moves, adding available free agents while dropping other players from the teams. The player achieves stats every week based on the play of the fantasy players, receiving points based on yards gained and touchdowns scored. In most leagues, teams play each other head-to-head, and the team whose players score the most points receives a win. The teams then move to the playoffs at the end of the regular season to determine a champion. The playoffs and championship are normally played at the end of the regular season because once the NFL playoffs begin, the players from non-playoff teams do not play anymore games.
  
  

Keeper Fantasy Football

• Another form of a fantasy football league involves naming "keepers" on each team during the season. In a Keeper League, the fantasy owners conduct an initial draft and then play the season the same way as a seasonal league. Between the seasons, owners choose a specific number of players they will keep heading into the next year's draft. Some leagues allow one keeper player while others have as many as five. When the next draft begins, the teams already have their keepers on their roster, and these players are not eligible for the new draft.
  
  

Dynasty Fantasy Football

• An extension of the Keeper League is a Dynasty League. In a Dynasty League, fantasy owners conduct the initial draft, and the players they draft remain on their roster until they eventually drop or trade them to another team. Dynasty Leagues offer a rookie and free agent draft each year to deal out the new players coming into the NFL for the fantasy owners to choose. Dynasty Leagues require owners to remain active in the leagues since it takes dedication in building and maintaining a team to be successful in these leagues.