NFL Week 1, or what will more accurately be described as Christmas morning for Fantasy Football enthusiasts just got a whole lot sweeter. DraftKings and ESPN teamed up to announce a cross promotion play that the DFS industry has never seen before. $1,000,000 given out to the ESPN Season long fantasy football player/ league who has the highest finish in DraftKings $10M Million Maker tournament. In simpler terms anyone that is registered in a season long ESPN Fantasy Football League that falls under the League Manager settings (which most normal leagues do) will be eligible to split 1 Million Dollars with all of their league mates. The story was first announced at ESPNMediaZone.
The Fine Print
ESPN Fantasy Football League Manager Player with Highest Finish in the DraftKings Millionaire Maker to be Awarded an Additional $1 Million for ESPN League Manager Leagues
For those questioning what an ESPN League Manger League is, it should simply be any league where a person is in control of basic settings of the league. For a more detailed breakdown please check out this FAQ. But essentially anyone that plays Fantasy Football on ESPN should be eligible to receive this prize.
If the ESPN Winner is a member of multiple 2015 ESPN Fantasy Football League Manager leagues, the remaining $900,000 will be split among all members of all the 2015 ESPN Fantasy Football League Manager leagues that the winner is a member of. Each member can win up to one (1) full share of the remaining $900,000, including the ESPN Winner.
It is extremely tough to estimate on the number of unique signups any one marketing activity has but this could be significant to guide more season long players to DFS. The Press release from ESPN had the below quote
ESPN and DraftKings will bridge the season-long and daily contests for the first time through this event.
This is the first time we have really seen this effort from two of the biggest players in the DFS and season long fantasy industry. All of the funds given out will be deposited onto DraftKings player accounts. Which means all people that play DFS should be excited about the extra $1M that should hopefully be sliding into the DFS ecosystem.
All shares will be distributed through 2015 ESPN Fantasy Football League Manager league members’DraftKings’ accounts.
