Over the past few years, Fantasy Football has been an infinitely growing industry, now worth more than 20 billion dollars. This past year, almost 30 million people in the United States took part in at least one fantasy football league. These leagues can be with random people, but the majority are groups of friends or families.
Most fantasy leagues have a prize for winning the championship. The prizes may vary, but in the majority of leagues, the reward is money. There may be a pot that is compiled of the entry fee that is paid by all members of the league, or a set number paid by a company or business. Prize ranges can be different, depending on the amount of competitors in the league, or the price of the buy in. The typical league will most likely have a 10-20 dollar buy-in, but bigger, more popular leagues could have upwards of 50 dollar buy-ins. In most leagues, the champion does not get 100% of the pot. Majority of the money will be there, but a portion may go to the runner up, third place, and in some leagues, even last place could get their money returned to them.
Most leagues have a prize for the winner, but some have something for the loser. Fantasy punishments are a consequence for losing a league. The loser can be determined in a few different ways. Firstl, at the end of the regular fantasy season, managers may look at the rankings and base the loser off of that. Another way is to use the postseason consolation bracket as the deciding factor. Each league varies in their punishment, and some don’t even have any at all. Different punishments have different severities, but they can be extremely harsh. Many leagues have predisposed punishments, but some have votes within the members to decide what the consequences for losing are.
Most leagues are made up of friend groups who enjoy watching football. There are many within Elkhorn North.
The Jayhawks league included 12 sophomore boys and consisted of a 20 dollar buy-in, 240 for the winner and the punishment was the cage, in which the loser sits in a cage for 30 minutes while his league mates dump things on top of him. The champion, Ben Hansen, took home the entire 240 dollars, and the loser, Hudson Winn, will be put in the cage on Thursday, February 15th.
“I am super excited to see Hudson go into that cage. I can’t wait to see what kind of things people bring to dump on him. Personally, I am bringing a giant bag of glitter,” leaguemate Gavin Rohde said.
Another example is the Aaron Hernandez league. This league of eight sophomore boys only had a punishment, and no prize for the winner. The loser of this league, Cameron Schmeeckle, will have to run a “Milk Mile”. This requires him to run a lap around the track, then drink a glass of milk. He will repeat this until he runs a full mile.
“It was a close race until the end between me and Hunter,” Schmeeckle said. “My team sold in week 17 and I ended up in last. I am not looking forward to running the Milk Mile, but I have to or I will be out of the league next season.”
“I have heard of people running a Milk Mile, but never seen it in person,” Hunter Rosenbum said.” “It looks like it would be a terrible time for anyone who had to run it.. I am just very happy that it won’t be me.”
Lots of high-school sports teams have their own leagues. For example, the cross country team had a fantasy league of their own. This is another league with just a punishment, and it’s more violent than others. The loser, Kyle Ross, will be forced to withstand 10 seconds of a taser. He is allowed to choose his increments, but the time must add up to 10 full seconds.
“I am really glad that I won, and I am the one who gets to taze Kyle,” regular season champion Wyatt Sledge said. “I am sure it will be a great experience for everyone involved. Except Kyle of course.”
Fantasy leagues are a super fun way to not only talk with friends, but it also makes watching football more enjoyable. Even if you don’t have a favorite team, you can still cheer for your own players and their teams. It helps to make you fully invested in how your players are doing. The prizes are a great incentive to join one or two leagues. But just be careful, because the punishments can be harsh.
