There is no denying the pleasure and madness of fantasy football, and it seems like everyone is taking part these days.

ESPN, which claims to run the No. 1 fantasy football game, set a new all-time mark with more than 12 million people playing in 2023, a reported 10% year-over-year increase.

My friends and I find ourselves wondering sometimes if the NFL would be as popular as it currently is without fantasy football. Without it, we certainly wouldn’t be worrying about a Tampa Bay versus Washington game on a Thursday night.

But there is something else I’ve figured out over the years I’ve spent struggling with — er, playing — fantasy football: There are fundamental business lessons that can be leveraged from fantasy football if you’re sharp enough to consider and follow them. 

Of course, I haven’t been completely mindful of those lessons this season and I’m sure I probably won’t be the next time I play either. Hopefully you’re doing a better job of that than me, but, regardless, let’s consider the business lessons we could all be learning from fantasy football.

Lesson 1: Avoid irrational exuberance in all cases

If the phrase “irrational exuberance” sounds familiar, it’s because it was Alan Greenspan’s line from 1996 to explain the hugely fluctuating stock market and then the title of a 2000 book from Yale’s Robert Shiller that predicted the 2001 tech bubble burst.

But it’s also a prime lesson for fantasy football. Be shrewd and analytical, period. From the draft to the end of the season. 

For starters, don’t let your favorite teams or players cloud your judgment. And don’t do what I did and become so incensed you’re drafting ninth in a 10-team league that you make a deal before the draft with your friend who has the first pick to pay his league fees for the year. If you do, four of your top five draft picks will invariably end up on injured reserve (IR) or miss the season (sorry Justin Jefferson, Nick Chubb and more). 

In all honesty, I should’ve learned this lesson years ago when I did the same thing and paid league fees for a friend with the first pick, drafted former Denver Bronco running back Terrell Davis, and then watched in horror as he broke his leg early in the season. Brutal.

A fantasy football season is a war of attrition, and the experts all say it doesn’t matter what position you draft from. Just stick to the data week in and week out and keep your feelings at bay.

Lesson 2: Spend and invest strategically

Did I mention fantasy football is a war of attrition? If you want to win and compete, you have to do what it takes to put yourself in the best position each week.

That means studying and making moves; being on point and up for the task. Depending on how you look at it, you’re spending or investing in the future of your team or business.

Nobody drafts perfectly and avoids having to make a move to win. Some of the moves you’ll make at the beginning of the season can make or break your team in the long run.

There’s a saying in business: You can’t starve the baby. When your business is new, invest in the right things to grow, scale and win. The same goes for fantasy football (along with massive heaps of luck).

Lesson 3: Trust your instincts. Don’t hesitate

How many times have we hesitated in business for whatever reason, and it cost us? Hesitating and not following through on your instincts or ideas can also cost you in fantasy football. 

Don’t think about picking up someone only to wait and monitor their progress. Someone else in your league is going to vulture that move every time.

For example, I once needed to stream a defense for a week because my starting defense (the Philadelphia Eagles) had a bye. I saw Seattle was the top-ranked free agent defense available and thought I could get them any time after our waiver period had passed. I landed on a plane for a work trip and was trying to get the Seattle defense on the ESPN app while taxiing on the tarmac. And my league friend literally swooped in and got them right before me. It just reminded me: If you snooze, you lose.

Lesson 4: Do market research and be aware of your competitive environment

We all want to make the genius moves, and we all want to be like Wayne Gretzky: “Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.”

I’ve felt that way in business when I ran a marketing communications consultancy that grew its customers from all technology operations to also include defense and health care companies for a stronger, more diversified client base.

That’s also how I felt after picking up Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams off the waiver wire late this season after he came off the IR list. Williams immediately produced some big games that are helping me in the Consolation Bowl race (I failed to make the playoffs in our league with so many injuries on my roster).

I’m no Nostradamus, but I knew Williams had put up solid numbers earlier in the season. And I also knew one of my fantasy football friends had dropped him earlier when he went on IR, so I swooped in and got him with the second waiver pick for that week.

Market reconnaissance is important in business and fantasy football, and so is knowing who your colleagues have or have dropped from their rosters.

In the end, fantasy football is supposed to be fun and a welcome distraction. If you’re like me, you end up pouring more energy and time into it than you want, but it’s still entertaining to duel with your friends.

And don’t overlook the business lessons you can learn in the process. Maybe those can help you earn some extra dollars to pay your fantasy football tab!

Daniel Francisco is vice president of marketing for Deseret News.