Fantasy Football

Fantasy football is big business. A report issued by Challenger, Gray & Christmas this week boldly states that “the time lost at work could cost employers as much as $1.1 billion per week.” With as many as a purported 36.8 million folks indulging, it’s no wonder that ESPN, CBS, FOX, and AOL all have their own fantasy football franchises. But forget the big players and numbers, the most intriguing thing about Challenger’s fantasy football report is its conclusion.

“Employers should avoid squashing employees’ brief participation in fantasy football during work hours. The potential damage to morale and loyalty resulting from a fantasy football ban could be far worse than the loss of productivity caused by 10 minutes of online team management,” said Challenger, Gray & Christmas CEO, John A. Challenger.

“Companies that not only allow workers to indulge in fantasy football but actually encourage it by organizing a company league are likely to see significant benefits.”

There’s some interesting extrapolation in the report, as it strives to tie together information on fantasy football from a range of sources. But I’m not sure if I can argue with the conclusion. Take away football and what do you have?

An unhappy workforce and decreased performance.

I wonder what the man would have to say about the little guy (name withheld) that used to come around with the little slips of paper printed with the college and pro games each week. I don’t think I spent ten minutes a week (or more than five bucks) on those slips back in the day, but man, I could never pick ‘em to save my life.

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