Average Fantasy Football Player Costing Job $733.50 In Productivity Every Season
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - It's hard to click onto a sports-related website this time of year without being hit by an avalanche of content suggesting who should fill out the roster of your fantasy football team. So who is reading all of those articles? Probably the guy in the cube next to you, and it's costing your business a lot of money.
The consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. has crunched the numbers and found that the 31 million people playing fantasy football each year likely costs businesses about $14 billion in wasted work hours each year. A closer look at the numbers gives you a better idea of just how much your co-workers (and maybe you) are costing the company.
Researchers were basing their findings off the average hourly private pay of $24.45, and assuming a minimum of two hours a week spent managing the team over a 15 week season. That means the average player is spending an a minimum of $733.50 worth of paid hours every year worrying about their depth at fantasy running back.
In their report, Challenger, Gray & Christmas "fully acknowledges the absurdity of trying to gauge the level of lost work output resulting from fantasy football."
"We are not trying to demonize fantasy football. It is important to understand that there are more distractions than ever in today's workplace. If it's not fantasy football, it's the latest Hollywood gossip, shopping on Amazon, or checking Facebook," said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas said.
That said, with an estimated $50 or so lost per player each week, we're guessing your boss may frown on your plans to start an office pool.
