People know to refrain from bothering Terry Nelson when NFL games are being played. Don’t call her. Don’t invite her to brunch. Don’t come over for a pleasant conversation. “People who know me know I’m going to be focused on football,” the Austin, Texas, resident told the Sun. “I don’t want any distractions.”

Katie Moheit of San Antonio is the same way. So is Stacie Stern of Dallas. Anita Marks of New York City has three televisions and five tablets in operation on an NFL Sunday. Don’t mess with her, either. They are all part of a growing number of women playing Fantasy Football, a domain traditionally dominated by football-crazed men.

According to the Fantasy Sports and Gaming Association, more than 50 million people play fantasy sports, and as of 2023, 35 percent are women, a 16 percent increase since 2019. Once considered something men do, fantasy football attracts passionate women eager to test their football knowledge.

“Between football all day Sunday, Sunday night, Monday, and Thursday night, it’s all-consuming,” Ms. Marks told the Sun. “My friends know not to ask me to do anything those nights. I’m home watching football and when I’m not watching football. I’m talking about football. I’m studying football. I’m preparing for football.”

Ms. Marks is the GOAT of women’s fantasy football. She has played fantasy football for more than three decades often the only woman in the leagues in which she competed. A fantasy football and gambling analyst for ESPN, she has turned her passion into a profession and welcomes the increasing number of women involved in fantasy football.

“Women are feeling more invited to watch and participate in football,” Ms. Marks told the Sun. “Women aren’t as intimated. The NFL has done a good job with inclusion and aligning its brand with women. So if you’re watching the sport the chances are you’re playing fantasy football or even gambling on football.”

Fantasy football is where participants act as owners and general managers of a virtual team consisting of quarterbacks, receivers, tight ends, running backs, kickers, and a defense. Participants create their teams through a draft from active NFL rosters. The virtual teams compete in virtual leagues and normally play another team in the league each week. 

Players compile points based on their performances and the virtual team with the most points wins their head-to-head game. Teams with the best records reach the playoffs, and a champion is ultimately crowned. Trades can be made throughout the season. A knowledge of the best quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, etc. is needed to build the strongest squads. “When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them I prepare for fantasy football,” Ms. Marks said. “I love my job.”

This is the time of year when fantasy football owners acquire as much information as possible in preparation for their virtual drafts before the NFL regular season begins. Connie Kollinger of Dallas, who reached the championship game last year in a league otherwise made up of men, said gathering information and building a virtual team is a natural extension of her love of the sport. “Before fantasy football, everybody was only interested in their favorite NFL team,” she told the Sun. “Fantasy football has made everybody interested in everyone else’s team and paying attention to who the really good players are.”

The vice president of government affairs and partnership for Underdog Sports, a fantasy sports operator, Ms. Stern remembers the anxiety she experienced when she first got involved in fantasy football two decades ago. “There was a lot of nervousness about will I know enough to compete and if I made a bad pick would I look stupid,” Ms. Stern said. “It was not something that was typical for girls and women to be participating in. To be the first woman in a group, you want to make sure you look educated and smart, and maybe don’t stand out even.”

Now Ms. Stern competes in five leagues, including a 10-team league made up entirely of women. “It’s neat to bring these women together from different facets of the world,” she said. “When it comes to the league, we really enjoy each other and we smack talk like none other. It’s super competitive.”

Ms. Marks, who played women’s professional football from 2000 to 2004,  competes in 12 leagues. She said it feeds her competitive nature and elevates her enjoyment level. “Because of what I do for a living, I’m the one to beat,” she said. “Everyone brings their A-game against me. Out of the 12 leagues I want to make sure I’m in the playoffs with at least 10 of them, and I want to make sure I win the championship in at least five of them.”

Ms. Moheit was the only woman in her leagues for several years and wanted to incorporate more women. She formed a private Facebook group three years ago. Women’s Fantasy Football now has nearly 600 members throughout America and Canada.

She serves as the commissioner for several leagues and competes in 17 leagues of mostly women.

“The spirit behind the Facebook group is to give women with all levels of experience a chance to come together and learn from each other and play,’ Ms. Moheit said. “We have women who have been playing fantasy football for decades and women who recently heard of fantasy football and want to learn more about it. It’s exciting to see the camaraderie and positivity among so many active members.”

Ms. Stern called fantasy football a “great equalizer” where gender has nothing to do with success. “Using my understanding of the game and what I’m seeing and building a lineup is something I can do and it doesn’t matter if I’m a man or a woman,” she said. “What matters is the effort and skill I’m putting into it.”