In fantasy football, no one remembers who finished first, but everyone remembers who finished last. 

In 2024, the fantasy football industry generated over $23 billion, with 13 million registered fans on ESPN. Some attribute the game’s popularity to a deep passion for football, while others believe its appeal comes from the unique control it gives to its participants. However, the industry owes a large amount of its success to an aspect of the game that comes from beyond the digitalized field–the punishments. 

Although it can vary depending on the league, fantasy football punishments typically occur weekly, with the lowest-scoring individual performing a predetermined punishment. Additionally, at the end of the season, after standings are finalized, the individual with the worst overall record, or fewest points, faces a bigger, more memorable punishment. 

It’s not uncommon to laugh at another’s misfortune. “Epic Fail” videos exploded on the internet in the early 2010s, with millions of people liking and commenting at the expense of an individual’s safety and dignity. This reveals something pretty simple about people: we love a good success story, but we really love watching someone fail. A modern example of this can be found on TikTok. Hundreds of videos go viral from September to December, showcasing teenage boys participating in humiliating trends, often with their friends poking fun in the comments. And the reason why teenage boys put themselves through this humiliation ritual? Fantasy football punishments. 

Fantasy football punishments have gained immense popularity over the last few decades, supported by the rise of social media. And with the rise in punishments, many players, such as Myles Davis ’28, have begun to find them crucial to the game. 

Davis, with two years of fantasy experience and the leading record in his league, explained that the winner from the previous week gets to pick the punishment for next week’s loser. Davis refers to the system as “not a way to get power,” but as a “democracy.” He expanded on this by referring to the embarrassment of punishments as “unavoidable” and “an incentive to try.” 

Davis argues that without punishments, the game would be “mostly boring and repetitive,” as players would have “no real reason to care.” With added punishments, the games have higher stakes. Every week, players log in to analyze stats, cringe at injuries, and celebrate their wins, driven by the knowledge that one bad result could land them in the hot seat. 

But what happens when you lose? Ben Spencer ’28 has been playing for five years but is finding this season particularly challenging. So far, Spencer has had to post two embarrassing TikToks as a result of his losses. However, when reflecting on his punishments, Spencer didn’t seem to mind. He describes the TikToks as “embarrassing, but overall fine.” When pushed further, Spencer explained why he follows through with the punishments: “If I don’t do my punishment this week, who’s to say the loser next week won’t do his? All my friends would be annoyed with me.” Spencer recounts the feeling of being posted as “a little rough, but it mostly feels like your friends are laughing with you, not at you.” Spencer’s comments allude to a larger reason why losers continue to play, suggesting that the real payoff is not avoiding the punishment at all, but in staying connected to one’s community, which makes the game fun in the first place. 

Fantasy football punishments work because there is an unspoken pact between the players. No one wants to ruin the unique tradition for everyone else and risk the friendship that comes with the game. Players sacrifice a bit of their dignity to keep the group functioning, and it pays off. Punishments give some people a reason to come back every week, and they provide the foundation for inside jokes and shared laughter between friends; this reinforces the idea that fantasy football is not just about the sport itself, but more about the relationships that are built around it. 

Although the fear of losing often outweighs the excitement of winning, one thing is clear. The reason millions of fans log onto fantasy every year isn’t just to chase victory, but because the punishments make the game worth playing…most of the time.