Mark Madden's Hot Take: Fantasy football skews rooting priorities

It’s the time of year when everybody unwittingly ruins their enjoyment of the NFL by drafting a team in that most counterproductive of activities, fantasy football.

You love it. You shouldn’t.

It’s popular. So is drug abuse.

Say your fantasy team includes Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow. Who do you root for in Week 1, the Steelers or your fantasy team?

Most will say the Steelers. Most will be lying.

Say your fantasy team needs a touchdown from Cleveland running back Nick Chubb to win the league. The Steelers need a stop to make the playoffs. Who do you root for in Week 18, the Steelers or your fantasy team?

Most will say the Steelers. Most will be lying.

Then again, the idea that the Steelers will be in the playoff hunt come Week 18 is pure fantasy.

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Fantasy league skews priorities. It mixes emotions.

I won a fantasy hockey league thanks to Eric Lindros. He was my best player. I had to root for a Philadelphia Flyer. I feel ashamed to this day.

You root for your favorite NFL team one minute. You root for your fantasy team the next. You switch allegiances within the context of the same game.

If you’re in more than one fantasy league, you can be rooting for and against the same player in the same game. It makes you confused and stupid, not that you weren’t.

The upshot is the winner’s playoff, which is usually meager.

Loyalties disintegrate, friendships get ripped asunder, self-importance skyrockets and time gets wasted for a fantasy league that costs, say, $100 to join. What’s the champion get, $1,000? I don’t know what the average salary of an NFL GM is, but it’s more than that.

I know a fantasy league that costs $6,600 per team. It has 40 teams. Four divisions of 10 teams. Each division uses the entire NFL. The prize pool is over $250,000. (If I ran that league, I’d collect the entries and head to Bolivia.)

Join that league, and you have my respect. There’s considerable risk, and considerable reward. (There’s also the frequent absurdity of 10 guys pitching in $660 each, then trying to draft as a group. It’s reminiscent of Mike Tomlin, Art Rooney II, the GM, the assistant GM, the assistant GM’s assistant, etc.)

Don’t play fantasy football.

But, if you’re going to indulge, the path to victory seems clear: Draft Kenny Pickett first overall.