Fantasy Football Costs Employers $6.5 Billion, Says Unscientific Study

With the start of the NFL season looming around the corner millions of people are now obsessing about their Fantasy Football teams. Will Peyton Manning’s arm hold up? Will that double quarterback thing in New York really work? Can I trust a rookie QB? Those questions could cost employers $6.5 billion this year.

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas conducted a “very rough” and “non-scientific” study to find out how much money employers will lose due to a downturn in productivity during fantasy football season.

The firm estimates that more than 22 million American workers will spend at least one hour per week talking about fantasy football instead of work. That means that during a 15-week fantasy football season more than 330 million hours will be wasted, which according to the firm will result in the loss of $6.5 billion. (You can get a more in-depth look at the math here.)

The number might sound huge but spread out throughout the workforce it really won’t make an impact.

Challenger chief executive John Challenger said:

“Employers will not see any impact on their bottom line and, for the most part, business will proceed as usual… However, even if the economic impact is faint, it is important to acknowledge fantasy football’s overall impact as a societal and workplace phenomenon.”

Do you play fantasy football at work?