15 Compelling Reasons To Man Up and Play Daily Fantasy Sports

Let’s say you’re still on the fence. You’ve gone through this site, checked out my daily fantasy sports tutorials, read up on salary caps, and even picked out a few sites to register an account. You’re ready for prime time.

But for some reason, you haven’t pulled the trigger. Something’s holding you back.

I assume you’ve seen the thousands of daily fantasy sports contests listed at FanDuel, DraftKings, and Draft Street. You also realize that a lot of folks are having a blast while winning real money every day. You can definitely do the same.

But you have to play if you want to win.

Below, I’m going to overwhelm you with reasons to play in daily fantasy sports contests, including football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. By the time you finish reading this page, you won’t have any excuse to put it off any longer.

Ready to see for yourself? Then let’s get started.

#1 – You Don’t Have To Commit To A Full Season

“I’m busy, I don’t have the time, I can’t play all season.” We’ve heard it before. Man up! If you’re a veteran of playing in season-long leagues, this will be a no-brainer for you. You already know that committing to an entire season comes with a ton of baggage. It’s a huge drain on your time; most leagues require a significant cash “investment” (I’m using that term loosely); and early-season losses can destroy your chances of winning.

With daily fantasy sports contests, you’re in and out in under 24 hours. Actually, the entire experience – from the point you enter a contest to that evening’s final play – might only take two or three hours.

#2 – Every Day Is Draft Day

I love draft day. I still play in season-long fantasy leagues on occasion, and draft day is always my favorite part (besides crushing the competition, of course). The problem is, it only happens once. Sure, I can trade players to bolster my lineup, but that’s not the same thing.

When you play daily fantasy football or any other type of 1-day fantasy sports contest, every day becomes draft day. After all, you get to pick a new team each day.

#3 – No More Late-Season Desperation

Think back to the last time your fantasy sports team got off to a horrible start. After a few weeks, you probably doubted whether you’d be able to win your league. And unless things turned around by mid-season, you may have even started to sweat a little.

At sites like FanDuel.com, you don’t have to stress out about stuff like that. There is no late-season desperation because there’s no late-season action. Remember, these contests are over in a day.

#4 – No Legal Hoops To Jump Through

Betting on daily fantasy sports is 100% legal in most of the U.S. (a few states, like Arizona and Montana, prohibit it). It’s easy to take that fact for granted. But if you’ve ever tried to play online poker, you know how frustrating it is to play something that’s frowned upon by the law.

The law currently gives a wide berth to daily fantasy sports betting.

#5 – More Chances To Recoup Your Losses

When you lose a season-long fantasy league, you basically have to wait until the following season to make up your losses. And obviously, there’s a big chance that you’ll just sink further into the hole.

The experience is completely different when you play at a daily fantasy site. If you lose one contest, you can enter another one the following day. Technically, you can play in several contests each night. Some you’ll win; some you’ll lose. The point is that you don’t have to wait until next season to even up your bankroll.

#6 – You Can Draft Any Player You Want

Traditional leagues tend to follow a snake draft structure. Everyone takes turns drafting players. There’s always a chance that someone is going to draft your favorites, which means you can’t put them on your roster. If your plan depended on picking up those players, you were out of luck.

Most daily leagues follow a salary cap structure. You get to draft any player you want as long as you have enough cash in your budget. It’s like going on a shopping spree and buying who you can afford.

#7 – Easier To Take Players’ Injuries In Stride

Remember when QB Jay Cutler tore his groin (ouch!) last year? Remember when Jermichael Finley hurt his back? And what about RB Doug Martin, who messed up his shoulder? If you had any of these guys on your fantasy football lineup, their injuries probably hurt you just as much as they hurt them (well, okay, maybe not that much). You couldn’t play ’em or trade ’em. You were stuck with ’em sitting on the bench, maybe for the rest of the season.

Now, let’s say you’re playing in a daily fantasy NFL contest. Your QB manages to wind up at the bottom of a dogpile, and is carried off the field with a broken collarbone. Your chances for winning your league at that point might be pretty dismal. But here’s the good news: the contest ends that evening. You can get a fresh start the following day by picking a new team.

#8 – Big Guaranteed Prize Pools Up For Grabs

To be fair, the prize pools in season-long fantasy sports leagues can get pretty big. But their size always reflects the number of entrants and the entry fee.

At FanDuel.com, you’ll find what are called “guaranteed” contests (you’ll also find them at DraftKings.com and DraftStreet.com). These are contests that go live with a guaranteed prize pool regardless of how many people enter to compete. The prizes are often huge.

For example, at the time of writing, I’m looking at a $120K NBA Super Slam at FanDuel. The number of participants is capped at 5,362. Here’s the key point: FanDuel is going to pay out $120,000 even if only half that number join. Even better, the entry fee is only $25.

#9 – You Can Play Fantasy Sports Whenever You Want

The Big 3 daily fantasy sports sites offer thousands of contests each day. When one contest ends, another one takes its place.

What does that mean to you? It means that you’ll never have trouble finding opportunities to play.

#10 – You Can Do Everything In Less Than 10 Minutes

That’s what she said. Remember earlier when I said I love draft day? It’s true. I do. The problem is, it takes a ton of time when you’re playing in a season-long league. Drafting players can require the entire day. If you’re married, have kids, or your job requires you to put in a lot of hours, it may not be possible for you to play.

With daily fantasy football, basketball, and baseball, you can get it all done in 10 minutes. You don’t have to wait on other people. If you know the players you want and can afford to draft them, you can create your lineup and confirm your entry in the time it takes you to shower and brush your teeth. Heck, you can do it during your lunch break and still have time for a nap.

#11 – You Can Always Find People To Play

No more calling your friends and asking whether they want to set up a fantasy league. No more scrambling to find people to play with. When you register at sites like FanDuel and DraftKings, you become a part of a huge community that wants to play all the time. A lot of folks play nearly every single day.

#12 – The Money Part Of The Games Is Automated

Remember the last time you won your season-long league? You probably thought you were going to get the cash that day. Then, reality set it. Some of the folks who owed you money suddenly stopped answering their phones or responding to your emails.

Welcome to being a winner in local fantasy sports leagues.

Guess what happens when you win a daily fantasy sports contest at FanDuel. You get paid instantly. The entire process is automated. You don’t need to play the part of a collections agent.

#13 – The Entry Fees Are Lower

The entry fees charged by serious season-long fantasy leagues are sometimes huge. Sure, if you don’t mind playing with the masses at Yahoo.com, you can sometimes get in for $20. But for serious leagues, expect to pony up hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.

Let’s suppose you’re on a tight budget and can’t afford to shell out $500 or more to play. If you’re in that situation, you’ll love the daily fantasy sports sites. You’ll find entry fees as low as $1.

#14 – You Can Start Playing For Free

All of the top sites – I’m referring to FanDuel, DraftKings, and DraftStreet – offer freerolls. These are contests that you can play in without having to pay an entry fee. It’s a good deal.

You won’t win any cash prizes for participating in freerolls. But you’ll get valuable, risk-free experience and a chance to see how the sites work. In addition, some freerolls give you an opportunity to win admission into contests that do charge an entry fee and pay out a cash prize.

#15 – You’ll Receive Free Bonuses!

Of course, there are strings attached to the bonuses (c’mon, no one gives away free money). But the fact that you can receive a bonus is still a huge advantage over playing in your local league. There will also be on-going promos that you can take part in once you are a member of the site.