According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, in 2017 the fantasy football business was valued at $7 billion with 59 million players. In 1969, Kings X tavern owner Andy Mousalimas pushed the concept of a fantasy league to customers at his iconic bar. The growth of the internet-fueled Fantasy Football with CBS launching their first edition on their website in 1997. Fantasy football really took off in 2009 with the debut of the NFL RedZone, which allowed fans to see every scoring drive. In 2017 the FTSA, a marketing research company, produced a study of the spending habits of fantasy players.

Source: Forbes August 31, 2018 16:52 UTC