DraftKings and FanDuel had two of their slowest weeks for daily fantasy football based on their most recent online Sunday NFL contests. However, the low revenue and entry fee numbers appear to be a part of a seasonal downtick experienced by the DFS operators at this point in the NFL season.
The top line look at DraftKings and FanDuel for NFL Week 14
A sampling of the publicly viewable NFL Sunday Week 14 contests — including both guaranteed prize pools (GPP) and non-guaranteed contests — at DraftKings and FanDuel observed by Legal Sports Report show the sites both generated similar amounts of revenue:
- FanDuel: $12.6 million in entry fees; $10.7 million in prizes awarded; $1.9 million revenue.
- DraftKings: $16 million in entry fees; $14.1 million in prizes; $1.9 million revenue.
It is the first time both sites dipped below $2 million in terms of revenue for an NFL Sunday, since LSR started observing metrics in Week 6 of the season. It was the second worst week in terms of handle — entry fees paid by players to enter contests — for both sites.
The figures represent a large sampling of contests from Sunday, but do not include all NFL contests or contests from other sports (i.e. NBA, NHL). They merely point to an example of how much money is flowing through the DFS operators at a snapshot in time. The figures are not verified or provided by the operators.
The figures above also do not include the live final at DraftKings, the Fantasy Football World Championship, a $10 million contest that consists of players that won satellite contests throughout the NFL season. The figures above also do not represent any figures generated by private contests, into which LSR has no insight in terms of raw data.
Also of note: FanDuel continues not to serve one state — Texas — that DraftKings does because of legal concerns.
Year over year at DraftKings and FanDuel
NFL Week 14 was a low point for the DFS industry last year in terms of some metrics, as well. However, last year was accompanied by the legal uncertainty surrounding the New York market.
Here was the picture from the same NFL week last year. (Note that the below figures for DraftKings are for GPP contests only):
DraftKings saw its eighth consecutive week of falling GPP entry fees for its Sunday NFL games. It hauled in $17.1 million in entry fees for Week 14, down from $18.5 million in Week 13. … But its net revenue from its GPPs still fell from $2 million to $1.9 million. …
FanDuel still saw its GPPs take another hit, too. FanDuel brought in $12.5 million in GPP entry fees, a drop from $14.8 million in Week 13, according to FanDuel’s own preliminary numbers sent to Legal Sports Report. … That left FanDuel with only a slight drop in net revenue, from $1.56 million to $1.5 million, for all its GPPs.
The moral of the story is that lower metrics at this point in the NFL season are not necessarily worrisome, but part of flow of the DFS industry, as currently situated.
The NFL season to date
Here is a look at the metrics at DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo since Week 6 of the NFL season for similar samples.
Revenue continues to hover around $2 million a week, with some fluctuations from week to week.
| Site | Week | Entry Fees | Prizes | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FanDuel | Week 14 (12/11) | $12,588,207.00 | $10,736,846.80 | $1,851,360.20 |
| DraftKings | Week 14 (12/11) | $16,012,847.45 | $14,142,350.60 | $1,870,496.85 |
| Yahoo | Week 14 (12/11) | $331,664.00 | $302,584.13 | $29,079.87 |
| FanDuel | Week 13 (12/4) | NA | NA | NA |
| DraftKings | Week 13 (12/4) | $18,246,941.25 | $15,963,378.60 | $2,283,562.65 |
| Yahoo | Week 13 (12/4) | $492,316.20 | $446,191.33 | $46,124.87 |
| FanDuel | Week 12 (11/27) | $13,115,094.00 | $11,113,444.10 | $2,001,649.90 |
| DraftKings | Week 12 (11/27) | $17,209,868.50 | $15,487,467.70 | $1,722,400.80 |
| Yahoo | Week 12 (11/27) | $559,247.00 | $522,054.90 | $37,192.10 |
| FanDuel | Week 11 (11/20) | $14,168,626.00 | $11,783,829.00 | $2,384,797.00 |
| DraftKings | Week 11 (11/20) | $18,728,398.25 | $16,508,463.20 | $2,219,935.05 |
| Yahoo | Week 11 (11/20) | $455,461.00 | $422,795.00 | $32,666.00 |
| FanDuel | Week 10 (11/13) | $12,486,847.00 | $10,418,693.60 | $2,068,153.40 |
| DraftKings | Week 10 (11/13) | $15,004,462.65 | $13,118,480.70 | $1,885,981.95 |
| Yahoo | Week 10 (11/13) | $394,827.00 | $364,330.00 | $30,497.00 |
| FanDuel | Week 9 (11/6) | $14,734,450.00 | $12,328,371.80 | $2,406,078.20 |
| DraftKings | Week 9 (11/6) | $19,536,503.95 | $17,112,120.20 | $2,424,383.75 |
| Yahoo | Week 9 (11/6) | $352,777.50 | $324,174.30 | $28,603.20 |
| FanDuel | Week 8 (10/30) | $15,042,309.00 | $12,805,637.60 | $2,236,671.40 |
| DraftKings | Week 8 (10/30) | $20,709,367.00 | $18,911,203.00 | $1,798,164.00 |
| Yahoo | Week 8 (10/30) | $452,425.00 | $421,844.50 | $30,580.50 |
| FanDuel | Week 7 (10/23) | $17,167,606.00 | $14,413,725.70 | $2,753,880.30 |
| DraftKings | Week 7 (10/23) | $23,661,272.80 | $21,959,359.60 | $1,701,913.20 |
| Yahoo | Week 7 (10/23) | $678,420.00 | $671,729.50 | $6,690.00 |
| FanDuel | Week 6 (10/16) | $16,742,975.00 | $14,188,814.00 | $2,554,160.80 |
| DraftKings | Week 6 (10/16) | $25,466,355.00 | $23,444,927.00 | $2,021,428.00 |
| Yahoo | Week 6 (10/16) | $565,075.00 | $565,075.00 | 37,063.10 |
