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NFL Fantasy draft season is upon us, but which states are the most nervous about picking their teams? Read our report to find out!
The lead up to the NFL season can be a nervous time for fans. Supporters can be anxiously wondering whether draft picks or free agent acquisitions will work out, and whether their teams will be contending or tanking in the upcoming season.
To add to the nerves, preseason is also the time millions of Americans will start drafting their NFL fantasy teams. Some will use their gut feelings while others will use heavily detailed research when picking their rosters but, either way, come January, these decisions will influence bragging rights between friends, families and coworkers.
With this in mind, we analysed online data to see which states were the most nervous about their fantasy football drafts.
Using a social listening tool to review negative sentiment towards fantasy football related terms in each state over the last 30 days, the data found that Mississippians are the most nervous fantasy football players ahead of the new season. Negative sentiment towards fantasy football in Mississippi stood at a whopping 80%.
Oklahoma narrowly ranked as the second most nervous state when it came to fantasy football with a negative sentiment of 78%. Meanwhile, Arizona ranked third with three quarters (75%) of online posts mentioning fantasy related terms deemed to be negative.
As if a quarterback battle between Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough isn’t nerve-wracking enough for NFL fans in Louisiana, the state also seems worried about building their fantasy rosters. The Pelican State rounded off the top four when it came to nervous fantasy players with a negative sentiment score of 74%.
The table below highlights which states are worrying about their fantasy football teams the most in the lead up to the 2025 NFL season.
|
Rank |
State |
Negative sentiment towards fantasy football |
|
1 |
Mississippi |
80% |
|
2 |
Oklahoma |
78% |
|
3 |
Arizona |
75% |
|
4 |
Louisiana |
74% |
|
5 |
New Jersey |
72% |
|
6 |
Georgia |
70% |
|
7 |
North Carolina |
69% |
|
8 |
Florida |
68% |
|
9 |
Rhode Island |
66% |
|
10 |
Arkansas |
64% |
|
11 |
Missouri |
63% |
|
12 |
Oregon |
62% |
|
13 |
Tennessee |
61% |
|
14 |
Virginia |
60% |
|
15 |
Kansas |
59% |
|
16 |
Nevada |
58% |
|
17 |
Michigan |
57% |
|
18 |
California |
56% |
|
19 |
Maryland |
55% |
|
19 |
Nebraska |
55% |
|
21 |
Pennsylvania |
54% |
|
22 |
Texas |
53% |
|
22 |
Wisconsin |
53% |
|
24 |
Colorado |
51% |
|
25 |
Illinois |
50% |
|
26 |
Massachusetts |
49% |
|
27 |
New Mexico |
48% |
|
28 |
Indiana |
46% |
|
29 |
Iowa |
45% |
|
30 |
Ohio |
43% |
|
31 |
South Carolina |
42% |
|
31 |
Kentucky |
42% |
|
33 |
Washington |
41% |
|
34 |
Alabama |
40% |
|
35 |
New York |
39% |
|
36 |
West Virginia |
37% |
|
37 |
Connecticut |
35% |
|
38 |
Minnesota |
34% |
|
39 |
Utah |
31% |
|
40 |
Vermont |
20% |
On the other hand, fantasy players in Vermont seem relatively cool about their fantasy prospects this year. Negative sentiment towards fantasy related terms in the state was found to be only 20%.
So, there are the states which are the most and least nervous about fantasy football ahead of the new season, however, trade proposals, waiver claims and injuries will only add to the tension throughout the year. And if you would like to see similar content to this, as well as the latest NFL odds during the 2025 NFL Regular Season, please head over to our NFL page!
Methodology
Using the social listening tool Brandwatch, we analysed online posts mentioning NFL Fantasy related terms in 40 states* over the last 30 days.
The states were then ranked based on what percentage of posts towards NFL Fantasy included negative sentiment.
Data correct as of 19th August 2025.
*Not enough data available in 10 states.
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