DraftKings and FanDuel saw numbers tick downward again for contests during week 8 of the NFL season, as the sites decrease their guarantees.
Historically, numbers at the sites dip in the middle of the season before rebounding a bit later in the fall. The dip also comes as users’ attention and money could be split with attention on the start of daily fantasy basketball season.
DraftKings continues to hold a sizable lead over FanDuel head into NFL Week 9 in handle and revenue. But the gap has narrowed a bit as DraftKings’ numbers have dropped from highs earlier in the daily fantasy football season.
The top-line figures at DraftKings and FanDuel
According to a sampling of the publicly viewable NFL contests from Oct. 23-29, DraftKings realized about $2.9 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 about $27 million in entry fees, aka handle. For the second straight week, that’s the lowest figure for NFL contests since Week 2. DraftKings hit season highs of $32 million and more than $4 million in revenue in Week 6.
FanDuel, meanwhile, just about held steady with about $15 million in handle and $2.2 million in revenue.
The above figures do not include revenue or handle from other sports.
Sunday only
Here is the snapshot for a similar sample of only contests that started on Sunday:
- DraftKings: $20 million handle, $2.1 million revenue
- FanDuel $13 million handle, $1.9 million revenue
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 9
As has been common in recent weeks, DraftKings’ top contest guarantees more than FanDuel’s top five combined.
Still DraftKings is scaling down its Millionaire Maker to just $3 million in guaranteed prizes, the lowest figure for that contest this year. FanDuel’s Sunday Million holds steady at $1.5 million.
| DraftKings | FanDuel | |
|---|---|---|
| Contest guarantee (entry fee) | $3 million ($20) | $1.5 million ($7) |
| Contest guarantee (entry fee) | $1.25 million ($3) | $444,000 ($33) |
| Contest guarantee (entry fee) | $1.2 million ($333) | $400,000 ($333) |
| Contest guarantee (entry fee) | $750,000 ($5) | $400,000 ($166) |
| Contest guarantee (entry fee) | $600,000 ($1,500) | $350,000 ($1,590) |
