Fantasy Football App Development Like NFL, ESPN | App Cost & Features

What is the NFL fantasy football app? 

NFL (National football league) is an annual American football league. Thirty-two total teams compete against each other. This much we’ve always known and been watching the games since eternity! Now, with the recent emergence of fantasy football games, the tables have totally turned. You can also turn your dream into a reality and become an NFL player!

Who makes those dreams come true? 

None other than the fantasy football app creators. 

App name	NFL
CEO	Roger Stokoe Goodell
Launch date	August 26, 2014
Revenue in 2020	$12 billion USD
App category	Fantasy sports and trading
Monthly app users	500.5K
App platform	iOS, and Android
Competitors	ESPN, Yahoo

Source: Reuters

Italy won the Euro 2020 tournament against England, which had the fans hooked. Ultimately the popularity of fantasy football applications surged.

According to FSTA (Fantasy Sports Trade Association), in just 2014, over 14 million people had participated in fantasy sports games from the US and Canada. Currently, it is a mega multi-billion dollar industry.

The current EURO 2020 has broken many hearts and won many of them too. And the recent win of Italy over England was such a delight to watch.

But some people are so passionate about the NFL fantasy football app that they have made their leagues and have become a part of the game. 

The current EURO 2020 has broken many hearts and won many of them too. But some people are so passionate about the NFL fantasy football app that they have made their leagues and have become a part of the game.  Share on X

How? 

The fantasy football apps have given them the chance to play, win, and earn out of their passion for football and any other fantasy sports.

Why is it important to get the fantasy football app made now?

Because it is the football league season and your app will get the best opening in the market ever! Yes, ever since the ongoing UEFA football league 2020 has started, everyday browsing trends show that it is literally everywhere! 

Plenty of such important football tournaments take place throughout the year. And apart from their own created leagues, players, managers, and owners of fantasy football sports are all the more excited during some big leagues.

You want to know how many? Well, about a dozen! Some of them could be: European Championship, La Liga, Premier League, Bundesliga and so on.

The look and feel of fantasy football game apps

NFL has its own fantasy football app, which has colors and background graphics of players on the ground. 

There are two options— join a league and create a league.
As most people download the app to join a league, the ‘Join a league’ button is yellow to catch quick attention.

You have to fill the login form with the necessary user information—just a simple email id, phone number, password for future use, etc. 

NFL fantasy football app has two more features that got widespread acceptance from its users. They are— Podcasts and fantasy survivor features.

The added “extra” inside sports trading apps like NFL:

1. Podcasts are a regular commentary on live matches. The commentators are experts in the field and provide in-depth analysis of the game, techniques, and more that can help you improve your moves in the next match.
2. And fantasy survivor feature lets you decide your picks for every game. You can pick a different and unique set of players for every new game. Inside this tab, you will find a leaderboard list, daily wins, and losses, the number of entries allowed per user, etc.
3. Be it the NFL Fantasy football app, Yahoo, Rotowire, or any other, they all have leaderboards, information panel, official rules tab— certain common elements that help any newbie join the games without much difficulty.

How does an app like the NFL fantasy football work: app user perspective? 

1. Step 1: The user downloads the application from the aggregator platform. (Say Google Play Store)
2. Step 2:  Now register for a new account. Alternatively, the user can log in.
3. Step 3: They can customize their existing portfolio and manage their team(s). Alternatively, they can create a new team.
4. Step 4: Users can also browse updates, scores, expert commentary, and advice to improve their trade.
5. Step 5: Lastly, the users can enjoy the earnings from the application.

Read more about your own Fantasy football app: Fantasy Football App Development | Idea Usher

Fantasy league app development process (Ideation to launch step by step guide)

The fantasy sports platform development needs proper step-by-step working. So, let’s dive into the structure formation of the app:

1. App idea

There are so many fantasy football and other gaming apps available in the market. What makes your app stand apart from the crowd? This one simple step, if taken with full interest, can give your app a great start. In fact, people yearn for newness.

2. Market Research

Make a thorough research on your competitors. Get a survey done on your target audience. Decide and plan your strategies before you implement them. After all, this stage is all about planning.

3. Fantasy football app UI/UX

The design of an app, a gaming app, is a crucial part of the whole app design process. An appealing app design gives interest satisfaction to the users. The color scheme, tabs, text, etc., are all part of UI/UX designing.

4. App development

The front-end, back-end development, API, etc., are to be executed. This is the foundation of your app and its workability. If you want a stellar application that increases business for you, this step is crucial. 

You would want to connect with expert app developers, to get it done in one go. You may consult with them to get a proper blueprint for your application. The key is to leverage their expertise; say for:

• Selecting between Hybrid and platform-specific app development
• Selecting the best hosting solutions
• Also, for selection of the best tools and technologies. (We will discuss this in detail in the next section. Keep reading)
• Help you select the best API integrations which are custom to your industry needs
• Deciding on add-on features that leave your competitors behind. And also, help your application stand out from the crowd.

5. Testing

In this step, working on the app, fixing any bugs and errors of the app are done. Sometimes, a few minor issues could happen after the app completes. A testing team helps remove all those and provides an error-free, smooth functioning app. Hence, this step is as important as the previous one.

6. App Launch

Once your dream NFL fantasy football app is ready, you can launch it in the market. The app is launched on the platform for which the app is created. It can be an Android app or an iOS app. You can also get a cross-platform app built. You want to take care of the following in this stage:

• App store optimization (descriptions and images on the app store)
• Launch strategies that are in compliance with your industry rules
• Beta testing with a limited number of the first group of users.

7. Marketing

How would your customers know that you have created such an excellent fantasy football app for them? Through marketing. Online and offline marketing of the app is needed once the app is ready. An excellent developing company will always provide you the best post-launch marketing services. 

The app development professionals you need

A team of developers is required to build an esthetic fantasy football league. You can either create a team of your own or hire a developing company with an expert team of app developers and designers. A minimum requirement would be of:

• Android/ iOS developers
• UI/UX designers
• Project manager
• Tester
• Marketing team

How much money does the fantasy football business make? 

An NFL fantasy football app can have many features. These features contributed to NFL making upto 12 billion USD revenue in 2020 alone!
Now imagine the possibilities to which you can scale your sports and fantasy gaming application.

How to monetize your fantasy sports applications?

There are 2 models which you can choose from:

1. Advertisement based revenue model

Whether it is a trivia game app, NFL fantasy football app, or a video streaming app, take any app— they prefer less ad-based earnings. However, some apps provide ads in the initial period. Once a considerable amount of user-base is created. They drop the earning-through-advertising model.

2. Commission-based revenue model

As discussed above also, many companies consider advertisement popups as a lousy strategy. So, they don’t display ads on the app screen; instead, they earn through commission from all the games. The revenue scheme is simple— each player has to pay an entry fee for every match they play.

In the starting, some fantasy sports apps keep the commissions as low as 10%. With the increase in players, they update the application features as well as the fee.

What are the features of a fantasy football app like NFL/ESPN? 

Admin control features

1. Transaction and banking

Monitor the banking and transaction options, limits, and options through this feature. Some updates of the app need regulations regarding payment options also.

2. Dashboards

The dashboard is at the center of the app, monitoring all the user’s activities, creating performance graphs, etc. This feature helps create future market strategies and plan business, make improvements, and update.

3. Real-time analysis

The real-time monitoring of activities of the app users is also as important as the monthly or weekly statistics as the short-term market strategies are based on these records and analytic reports.

4. League monitoring and management

The leagues are to be played fairly and maintain the scores, player rankings, points, team positions, etc. Every league involves teams and players. To keep the match fairly going, the monitoring of the league is crucial.

5. Reward creation and management

Reward earning management and maintaining the points chart for all the players. This is done so that the games remain fair and no errors occur in calculations and winner choosing. The amounts won by the players are disbursed based on the points earned by them.

6. User control and management

The admin can control and keep track of user activities through a centralized management system. A content management system helps the admin panel maintain and manage the entire app and user activities.

User control features

1. Sign Up form

The first step is the usual signup process where you have to enter a few personal details like their email id, phone number, full name, etc. They are just basic details to create an account.

2. Onboarding guide

An onboarding guide is to aware users of the rules and regulations of the app and the game. Understand the working and navigation of the app.

3. Profile creation

The player must create a proper user profile where their name, playing info, leagues joined, rewards given, etc. All information about them is stored.

4. Creating and joining leagues

Some players like to create their own new leagues and invite their friends to the game. So, both options are available. You can either create a new league or join an already existing one.

5. Live match updates

Apps are integrated with each match and league conducted on it. In this way, live updates of match scores and even highlights can also be given.

6. Scoreboard feature

The scoreboards are the deciding factor for all the winnings and earnings of the players. This should be updated so that the users can know their score and can decide to plan their next match-planning accordingly.

7. CRM (customer relationship management)

A customer reply and feedback teamwork towards customer relationship management. Providing answers to their queries, solving any technical or non-technical issues, etc. An app with excellent customer service gets good reviews and ratings. 

Related Read: Complete Guide On Sports Mobile App Development | Idea Usher

What is the best app to play fantasy football? 

There are many apps in the market that are in tough competition because of the surging popularity and craze for fantasy sports app. But there are three apps that top the list:

1. ESPN fantasy football app

ESPN fantasy cricket app is one of the best gaming applications along with its fantasy football one. It has a copious number of fantasy sports under its umbrella ESPN fantasy sports brand.

It is an intuitive app with easy-to-use features. You can create your leagues and get alerts for every little activity happening in the league or sports that you have joined.

Pros	Cons
Reviewing option for previous drafts	Paid DFS (Daily fantasy sports) options are not available
Notification alerts for each activity	Alerts for all activities and every league can be annoying for some users
Commish can designate rosters for the live draft parties

Since ESPN is an old player in the gaming industry, many people doubt whether ESPN fantasy football costs money?

So, the answer is no; all the ESPN games are completely free to use and play. All the fantasy football apps and other such fantasy sports apps keep their app free of cost because they charge in-app purchases of various upgrading and premium options.

2. NFL fantasy football app

It is considered the best fantasy football manager app because of its user-friendly UI. Many application users call it a combination or a mix of the Yahoo and the ESPN application. The NFL fantasy football app creators have beautifully created an app that combines the apps’ best features and provides a simplified version of that mix.

Pros	Cons
Easy-to-use-interface	Mock-draft has slow loading and updating speed
Free football leagues

3. Yahoo fantasy football and more app

Yahoo can host a large number of players as well as leagues. This change helped Yahoo climb up the list and become the top favorite of players. Furthermore, the expert analysts, mock drafts, statistical updates of all the games are also the strength of this app. Not to forget Yahoo’s news updates feature for the players to stay ahead of the competition.

This app covers hockey, baseball, basketball, and other sports. Interestingly, the users can switch between leagues in any sport and check messages, scoreboards, etc. 

Pros	Cons
Detailed league history and record books	The learning graph is not as linear as its competitors
Potential trade evaluation for every season	Players on the bench can be dropped even if they played

Why choose Idea Usher for building the best fantasy football mobile app?

Idea Usher has a professional team that has the experience of building robust, high-quality apps. In conclusion, developing a smooth functioning mobile gaming app has to be made by a company with a rich portfolio in building various mobile apps.

For a free consultation on your dream idea just like the NFL fantasy football app, contact us.

Or better, look at your future fantasy football app, here: Fantasy Football App Development | Idea Usher

FAQs 

Q. What does it cost to create a fantasy football application?

A. The cost of creating an NFL fantasy football app could range from $1300 to $30,000. The app’s design, add-on features, the team of developers, and post-launch marketing together make the total budget of the app.

Q. What is a fantasy football squad app?

A. In a fantasy football app, a fantasy football league is organized with a team. The team owners draft, trade, and even cut (drop the players out of the game), the team managers coach, lead and manage the team. The squad consists of all the players, owners, and managers. The participants get their names listed for all the leagues and are ranked based on their performance. Games like fantasy football are as much enjoyable to manage as to play. A football enthusiast could choose any role of their choice.

Q. Are fantasy football game applications legal in the USA and Europe?

A. Yes, the fantasy football gaming applications are legal to run in the US in compliance with the rules laid by UIGEA and the state laws. For Canada, well, the Canadian system has not specified any legal exempts for fantasy sports, neither had any reported criminal cases reported. Some fantasy football apps have Canadian players, so you can look up to them and know what works for Canadian legality.