Today our friends [Disclaimer: and partners] at Yahoo! Sports put out a really interesting study about the time commitment of an average fantasy football player, as well as stats on what percentage of people would give up things like sex and beer to win a fantasy league, and also who strong the gender divide really is in the world of fantasy sports. The full story is below.

NEW YAHOO SPORTS SURVEY REVEALS THE AVERAGE FANTASY FOOTBALL PLAYER SPENDS MORE THAN 4 HOURS A WEEK MANAGING THEIR FANTASY TEAM

Yahoo! Sports salutes fantasy football commissioners with Commissioner Appreciation Day

According to a new survey from Yahoo! Sports, the average fantasy football player spends more than 4 hours a week prepping for their fantasy matchup, an amount of time that would earn them more than $500 working a minimum-wage job over the course of a full season. Additionally, 8% of fans admit to spending more than 10 hours a week preparing for fantasy football – the same percentage of fans, coincidentally, who report that they have been dumped due to a fantasy football obsession.

Other key findings include:

  • Fantasy football over sex?While 16% of respondents would give up sex for the entire season to win their fantasy league, more (19%) are willing to give up their mobile phone. The most respondents, 39%, would give up beer to win their league.
  • Fantasy football and real money
    75% of fantasy football players are willing to bet on fantasy football, with 12% open to wagering more than $250 in their league.
  • Favorite teams vs. fantasy teams
    35% of fantasy football players have rooted against their favorite NFL team when they had a fantasy player on the opposing team.
  • The most powerful man in sports
    Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner, was considered by the most respondents (26%) to be the most powerful commissioner in professional athletics by a significant margin — more than the NBA’s David Stern (10%), MLB’s Bud Selig (9%) and the NHL’s Gary Bettman (3%) combined.
  • Gender bias?
    43% of fans think we are more likely to see a woman become President of the United States than be in charge of a professional sports league as a commissioner, and 25% think neither is likely.

The results of the Yahoo! Sports survey were released today to kick off the announcement of Yahoo! Sports’ Commissioner Appreciation Day on Monday, Aug. 27, to recognize and reward the important roles commissioners play before and during fantasy football season.

Serving as commissioner of a fantasy football league can be a thankless job, but not this year. Yahoo! is giving three grand prize winners of the inaugural Commissioner Appreciation Day the chance to win two tickets from SeatGeek to eight regular-season games of the pro football team the winner chooses. If you’re responsible for reviewing trades, collecting dues, scheduling drafts, and settling disputes, Yahoo! is making it worth your trouble this year. Tweet your numerical League ID to @YahooSports using the hash tag #YahooCommish before 5 p.m. (PT) on Aug. 27 and you’re automatically entered to win a number of prizes leading up to Commissioner Appreciation Day.

In addition to the grand prize, 15 commissioners will be eligible for one-on-one consultations with one of Yahoo! Sports’ Fantasy Football analysts – Andy Behrens, Brad Evans, Brandon Funston, or Scott Pianowski – and you can also have a chance to win other prizes, including Yahoo! Fantasy Football T-shirts, which will be awarded throughout the contest. All winners will be selected randomly from the pool of eligible entrants.

About the survey
Yahoo! partnered with Ipsos MediaCT to conduct the latest consumer pulse study in June of 2012. The survey asked questions about adults’ involvement with fantasy football. The online quantitative survey was fielded among 2,000 U.S. adults ages 18-64 who are representative of the U.S. online adult population.

About Yahoo! Sports
Yahoo! Sports is the #1 sports destination on the Internet, offering a fast, live and interactive experience for sports fans online. With comprehensive major event coverage, award-winning, original editorial content, leadership in investigative journalism, the leading fantasy sports experience, and scores, schedules, and headlines – fans find it all on Yahoo! Sports. Follow Yahoo! Sports on Twitter @YahooSports and Facebook at facebook.com/yahoosports.

For More Information Contact:
Annie Rohrs | 646-213-6175 | rohrsa@yahoo-inc.com

Hope you found this story interesting and don’t forget to check out SeatGeek for NFL tickets this season.