OXFORD, Miss. — Snacks, check. Remote control, check.
Beer, maybe not.
As millions of fantasy sports enthusiasts gear up for
Sunday’s NFL Super Bowl between the New England Patriots
and New York Giants, a University of Mississippi
professor’s survey of them during regular season offers
statistics that reveal interesting behavior patterns.
“Many of your NFL fantasy sports consumers are not that
much different than your regular NFL fan,” said Kim Beason,
associate professor of parks and recreation management.
“Like most fans, they switch back and forth between games
on TV, but the results on beer drinking are sort of
strange. Less than one out of four always or usually drink
beer during the game. That’s surprising.”
Preliminary results from Beason’s ongoing survey indicate
that nearly half of the fantasy sports consumers polled
rarely or never drinks beer while watching regular season
NFL games on Sunday. Consumer behavior researcher Nikita
Garg, UM assistant professor of marketing, said this
seemingly unorthodox conduct may boil down to business.
“Many of your fantasy sports players may not drink during
the game so they can stay sober and remain focused on their
team’s success,” Garg said. “Instead of a leisure- or
pleasure-based attitude that most fans have toward a game,
fantasy sports players may take a more businesslike
approach to watching football games. Their stake in the
game is higher.”
Partnering with the Fantasy Sports Trade Association,
Beason has seen his six-year research help hundreds of
small, medium and large companies better understand the
marketplace and their consumers, as well as help launch new
businesses and expand or modify existing business models,
said FSTA president Jeffrey Thomas.
“Dr. Beason is absolutely a pioneer and a friend of the
fantasy sports industry,” Thomas said. “He was the first
researcher that took fantasy sports seriously, and for
that, he has cemented a place in history with the FSTA and
our member companies.”
Beason’s latest consumer behavior survey of regular season
NFL fantasy sports enthusiasts also reveals that more than
95 percent watch NFL games on television, more than half
rarely or never go to a sports bar to watch the games, less
than one in five watch the games alone, three out of five
always or usually watch NFL pregame television shows and
less than 10 percent rarely or never televison surf between
football games.
“Yes, nearly two out of three always or usually eat snacks
during the game, and nearly half always or usually curse
out loud at the television due to a fantasy sports-related
issue, but the behavior of the viewing public is changing,”
Beason said. “More than 90 percent are online checking
their team’s success during the games. That’s a huge
amount.”
With 20 million who play fantasy sports league-type
contests in North America, the total market size is
estimated at more than $1.5 billion, including
sponsorships, endorsements, contest management and
advertising. Beason said these consumers primarily male,
white collar and married with children are unique and
interesting, and exhibit leisure behaviors that make them a
separate and identifiable industry apart from the
professional sports industry.
“Fantasy sports is a remarkable industry,” Beason said. “It
impacts the workplace. It’s even used to help teach
children math. It’s amazing the impact fantasy sports has
had on professional sports as well as the evolution of
fantasy sports into other industries.”
For more information, contact Beason at 662-915-5555 or
hpbeason@olemiss.edu. Fir more information on the
Department of Health, Exercise Science and Recreation
Management, go to