Editorial

POLL: 70% Of Americans In Office Fantasy Leagues Have Lost A Work Friend Due To Trash Talk

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Tyreek Hill #10 of the Miami Dolphins runs onto the field during player introductions prior to the game against the Houston Texans at Hard Rock Stadium on November 27, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)

(Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)

Andrew Powell Sports and Entertainment Blogger
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Holy hell, you’ve gotta love how intense Americans get about football.

OddsSeeker conducted a survey of 1,008 Americans in November to get a feel for how things go down with fantasy sports leagues in the workplace. The survey explored the largest buy-in price tag Americans are willing to pay to join an office league, which fans are the most likely and least likely to talk trash, and also how many Americans have lost friends because of fantasy sports league trash-talking.

Oh, the glory.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the survey:

  • The largest average buy-in price that people are willing to pay to join an office fantasy league is $290
  • 90% of Americans engage in fantasy trash talk with colleagues, and 62% said they have been reprimanded by HR for taking part
  • During office hours, fantasy players spend an average of 17 minutes per week managing their teams, which tallies up to nearly five hours of missed work time during the NFL season

And here’s the best stat of them all:

  • 70% of Americans say they have lost a friend at work because of their fantasy trash-talking, with 59% saying they still hold a grudge against a co-worker to this day

What a fantastic survey.

I can’t lie, I’ve lost friends because of football before — obviously, a lot of us have. That just shows you the intensity football brings out of Americans. In our defense, at least we’re not like soccer fans causing riots, throwing Molotov cocktails and stabbing our televisions… we just like to talk trash when our teams (both fantasy and real) are doing well. (RELATED: ‘You Ain’t Getting That Job Back’: Shannon Sharpe Slams Zach Wilson After Stellar Game By Backup QB Mike White)

Honestly, who can control the urge to trash-talk on Monday when your fantasy football team just hopped in first place after a big win on Sunday? How do you control the urge when your team (let’s use my Miami Dolphins for example) are 8-3 and have the No. 2 seed in the entire AFC?

You can’t.

SUPER BOWL!