You love football, but you can’t afford to see any live games anytime soon. While live sports can be great, they’re also very expensive (at least in the NFL’s case).
If your team usually has a rough season, you can still expect to pay an average ticket price of almost $100 for the cheapest seats in the stadium. If your team is good or just plain popular (like the Dallas Cowboys), you’re looking at paying an average of $400 or $500.
That’s a bummer, but lucky for you, you can still enjoy football without ever going to a game and tailgating before kickoff. Fantasy football is a great idea if for cost-conscious football fans. Here are three ways to make the fantasy football season work for your budget.
Hold your draft party at home
Sure, you’ve had some fun draft parties in the past at your neighborhood dive bar. It may seem like you have to go there during happy hour and draft your teams while drinking pitchers of beer and plates full of nachos. And you certainly can, but you really don’t have to. The beers you buy at a bar will generally have a higher markup than what you’ll find at a grocery store or liquor store. If one beer cost four or five dollars, that’s going to add up fast.
You can get better deals by buying a 12-pack, taking it home, and then sticking it in your fridge until it’s time for the party to begin. You also generally pay less per-person for food than you would at a bar, unless it’s burger week or pizza week and your neighborhood bar is running some really crazy specials.
Sure, you may miss ragging on your favorite bartender for being a Packers fan in Chicago, but you’ll gain more than you lose by having your draft party at your home. For one thing, it’s a lot easier to hear people talk at your house. It also gives you more room to think about each pick before it’s your turn.
Look for discounts
You’re already having the draft party at home. If you’re lucky, you might also be able to convince your friends to have Sunday watch parties at home instead of at bars. But then again, bars usually have all the games that you don’t get at home. But fear not: You can still save a few bucks by searching for discounts on materials that will get you ready for fantasy football.
You may think, “What materials? I’m going with my gut!” But it usually only takes one lost season for you to realize you don’t know as much as you think. There’s nothing wrong with that. Fantasy football is more complicated than normal football. In normal football, the teams are easy to spot, for one. Everyone knows how the scoring system works.
But if fantasy football still feels foreign to you, that’s OK. Look for fantasy football coupon codes that allow you to snag all the top rankings and news without going over your budget. Then you’ll have all the profiles, stats, and rankings you need to kick butt all season long.
Change the prize
You may like playing for big money in your fantasy draft, but you really don’t have to fork over $100 each if that’s out of your price range. You may be afraid to speak up and say, “Hey, what if we did $50 this year instead?” But don’t be, because if your wallet is feeling the strain, there’s a good chance that someone else’s wallet is as well. Once the first person speaks up, other people may very well agree with you.
Think of fantasy football as entertainment you’re paying for regardless of if you win or come in dead last. How much are you willing to pay for the enjoyment football gives you? If you can only put in $25 this year, your friends should understand. Football is fun, but it’s not more important than making rent or paying your electric bill.
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