If you’re someone who loves looking at Fantasy Football stats and enjoys the season-long game, you might wonder if you should dabble into daily fantasy sports and potentially make some money.
While some of the core concepts between the two are similar, there are also some big differences in the strategy.
The following are things to know about daily fantasy football in general and also how it compares to season-long fantasy.
Understanding Daily Fantasy Sports
Daily fantasy sports, or DFS, involve players who compete by building a team of athletes from a certain competition or league, and they’re required to stay under a particular salary cap. Then, players in DFS will earn points based on the players’ actual statistical performance in real games and competitions.
In the majority of DFS leagues, the players pool their money in a pot, and then the winner, at the end of the day, takes all of it.
You’re going to typically have to pay an entry fee to participate in daily sports, and then it’s those fees you pay that are added into the pot that everyone is trying to win.
Some people will describe daily fantasy sports as gambling because there are monetary stakes. There are also free fantasy contests without rewards or prizes if you just want to have fun or maybe practice for season-long fantasy football.
Every state has its own laws about online betting, and fantasy sports are regulated.
The concept of daily fantasy sports have been around for decades, but in 2009 and 2012, it became more mainstream because DraftKings and Fan Duel became involved in the marketplace, getting a lot of attention from investors. By 2015, daily sports in the U.S. were a big marketplace, and there’s been ongoing deregulation that’s made it even more popular.
Similarities Between DFS and Season-Long
There are similarities between DFS and season-long fantasy football.
First, there’s always a draft, regardless of the format you’re playing. You might have a salary cap league more commonly in DFS or a snake draft. Every site offering daily fantasy sports will run things a specific way, but you’re still going to need to put in some time to research and try to create the best possible team.
Value is always important in fantasy sports. This might be based on price, role, matchup, or a sleeper player. Value remains important in daily and season-long fantasy sports, including fantasy football.
Chasing value is risky, and you’re going against groupthink, but the risk can give you the biggest rewards in both types of games. You’re working to manipulate the way you draft players based on how other people value them versus how you are.
There’s also strategy involved in both, although some would argue season-long fantasy is more strategy, while daily fantasy sports do have some luck mixed in too.
Both are competitive, and both can mean you win money, although the rewards in daily fantasy are usually much bigger, the competition is greater too.
What About the Differences?
Of course, there are going to be some differences between daily fantasy football or daily fantasy sports in general and a season-long format.
The biggest difference, as you might gather from the name, is that in DFS, you’re drafting just for that day. You don’t think about problematic situations long-term or long-term sleepers, either. You care about a complete team and the best value at the moment for whatever game is coming up that week.
You want reliable players with upside.
If you’re drafting the same day the game is being played, you’re reducing your time to prep substantially.
When you play season-long football, you might spend weeks, months, or a large chunk of the year preparing for the draft.
You’re not very impacted by injury in daily fantasy, so if someone does get hurt, you simply don’t draft them the next time you play. The waiver wire and trades aren’t part of DFS.
With season-long fantasy football, an injury can completely change your season. If you have a first-round pick who gets hurt and you don’t replace him effectively, your season might go down the drain.
Finally, daily fantasy sports might give you more freedom and flexibility. When you play season-long fantasy football, there will be restrictions, and there are a lot of limitations you have to work within. In daily fantasy, your team can essentially be whatever you want it to be.
Of course, when it comes to the comparison between daily fantasy football and season-long fantasy, there’s no rule that says you can’t do both, especially if you want to pick up some cash along the way.
