Fantasy sports are as popular to Generation X men as TikTok is to teens, but the question stands: What made fantasy sports so popular, and how big into fantasy sports are teens?

Popular apps like ESPN Fantasy and Draftkings Fantasy Sports have taken the professional sports world by storm, allowing people to gather with their fantasy leagues virtually, rather than opting for the traditional in-person fantasy draft. Virtual fantasy sport leagues also eliminate everything administratively, and allow for the seamless transfer of money between league members. These apps have grown in popularity over the past decade and have almost entirely replaced traditional in-person drafting.

Student Nathan Windy, a sophomore, partakes in a fantasy football league. “I like it. It makes football even more interesting than it already is.” While Windy is just one example of a teenager being in a fantasy league, many teenagers also participate in basketball and baseball leagues.

After the arrival of the COVID-19 disease in the United States, and swift  in-person event restrictions being implemented, fantasy sport leagues needed to find a quick and easy solution to ensure that their leagues could stay operational throughout the pandemic. ESPN’s Fantasy app quickly climbed the leaderboards to the most popular fantasy sport app, encompassing football, both men’s and women’s basketball, hockey, and baseball. 

Fantasy football leagues, in particular, were extremely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Attendance at National Football League games plummeted as COVID-19 took hold of the nation. Football teams played in front of little or no fans at all. Hardcore fans, like the ones who take part in fantasy football leagues, were relying solely on fantasy sporting apps for their NFL news.

The professional sport world has become almost completely dependent on fantasy sports apps for their fan-run fantasy leagues and sports betting. Whether or not fantasy sports are popular among teens, they aren’t going anywhere for quite some time.