DraftKings and FanDuel saw numbers down slightly for NFL Week 7 right after one of the busiest weeks this year for daily fantasy football.
The contraction in NFL contest numbers likely came as a result of interest in daily fantasy basketball ramping up as the NBA season began last week. So the downtick should be taken with that in mind.
The numbers continued to show DraftKings leading its competitor handily in both handle and revenue.
The top-line figures at DraftKings and FanDuel
According to a sampling of the publicly viewable NFL contests from Oct. 16-22, DraftKings realized about $3.2 million in revenue.
The sample included guaranteed prize pools and non-guaranteed contests, but not head-to-head contests. (The sample does not account for any free entries the site may have given out, which would not be visible.)
The site generated more than $28 million in entry fees, aka handle. That’s the lowest figure for NFL contests since Week 2.
FanDuel saw a similarly slower week just in terms of NFL. While Week 6 was its best of the season, handle was down about $2 million to just under $16 million for Week 7. Revenue clocked in at $2.3 million.
The above figures do not include revenue or handle from other sports. Once again, there were about eight million entries made across the two sites for NFL contests, but total entries were at their lowest point for the season.
Sunday only
Here is the snapshot for a similar sample of only contests that started on Sunday:
- DraftKings: $22 million handle, $2.3 million revenue
- FanDuel $14 million handle, $2 million revenue
Like the total week, numbers at both sites were down from the previous Sunday.
Prior weeks for NFL at DraftKings and FanDuel
| DraftKings handle | DraftKings revenue | FanDuel handle | FanDuel revenue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | NA | $1.3 million | NA | $700,000 |
| Week 2 | $25 million | $2.8 million | $16 million | $2.1 million |
| Week 3 | $29 million | $3.3 million | $17 million | $2.1 million |
| Week 4 | $32 million | $4 million | $16 million | $2.2 million |
| Week 5 | $31 million | $3.6 million | $16 million | $2.2 million |
| Week 6 | $32 million | $4.1 million | $18 million | $2.8 million |
| Week 7 | $28 million | $3.2 million | $16 million | $2.3 million |
| Week 8 | $27 million | $2.9 million | $15 million | $2.2 million |
| Week 9 | $25 million | $3 million | $15 million | $2.3 million |
| Week 10 | $27 million | $3.2 million | $15 million | $2.4 million |
| Week 11 | $27 million | $3.2 million | $14 million | $2.2 million |
| Week 12 | $38 million | $4.5 million | $22 million | $3.2 million |
| Week 13 | $26 million | $2.9 million | $16 million | $2.4 million |
| Week 14 | $25 million | $3 million | $17 million | $2.3 million |
Looking ahead to NFL Week 8
DraftKings’ guarantees continue to be far larger and more aggressive than FanDuel’s. The former’s Millionaire Maker, for example, guarantees more than FanDuel’s top five contests combined.
| DraftKings | FanDuel | |
|---|---|---|
| Contest guarantee (entry fee) | $3.6 million ($20) | $1.5 million ($7) |
| Contest guarantee (entry fee) | $1.4 million ($3) | $500,000 ($166) |
| Contest guarantee (entry fee) | $1.25 million ($333) | $450,000 ($333) |
| Contest guarantee (entry fee) | $1 million ($1,500) | $444,000 ($33) |
| Contest guarantee (entry fee) | $800,000 ($5) | $425,000 ($1,590) |
