Fantasy football has evolved in recent years as flow of information, especially via the Internet, has been streamlined. Fantasy football's predecessor, fantasy baseball, proved very popular for many years, and is still frequently played. However, fantasy football has taken over as the most popular fantasy sport in the United States.
Fantasy football has a symbiotic relationship with the NFL, with almost all fantasy football leagues based upon the NFL. The two are intertwined, with each's popularity fueling the other's. Fantasy football enables people that may not be otherwise interested in the NFL to have a more vested interest.
Typically, a fantasy football league is established with 8 - 12 teams. With too many teams, there is a dilution of talent which makes success more dependent upon the luck of getting one special player, rather than the skill to assemble a roster of players that is better than competitors' rosters.
Most scoring depends upon the results of offensive players which are distributed through the league's rosters, typically through a draft. A common format for a roster is:
3 Quarterbacks (play 1)
3 Running backs (play 2)
4 Wide receivers (play 3)
2 Tight ends (play 1)
2 Kickers (play 1)
2 Defenses (play 1)
Players earn their team points based upon their results from their weekly games. A common scoring format is:
1 point for 20 passing yards
1 point for 10 rushing yards
1 point for 10 receiving yards
6 points for a touchdown (passing, rushing, or receiving)
-2 points for every turnover committed
1 point for an extra point
1 point for every 10 yeards of distance for a made field goal
2 points for every sack
4 points for every turnover forced
3 points for each touchdown scored off a turnover
Some examples of successful fantasy football leagues include:
