The money is real (or at least, it spends just fine), but you're right that there's not a lot of it. My wife and I just had a baby boy last year, and I was stuck in a job that I hated, so I decided to quit it, stay at home, and take care of him. I wanted something to keep me busy during the days (or rather, busier), so I put out a bunch of feelers and sent out a half dozen resumes to the bigger fantasy football sites. Footballguys offered by far the best package, but let's just say I wouldn't be quitting my day job if I hadn't, you know, already quit my day job. A lot of the sites that are just starting up don't pay at all until they're profitable. There's nothing wrong with that- I believe FBGs did the same thing a decade+ ago when they were first starting out- but the majority of those sites are never going to be profitable, so the writers are essentially donating their time for free (or for "exposure"). And honestly, the exposure can be valuable, too- maybe Footballguys never would have given me a chance if I hadn't had a chance to publish some rankings and a couple of articles at DynastyRankings.net, first.
The way I see it is I'm already devoting 20+ hours a week to fantasy football, just because I love it and enjoy it. It's not too much to add a little bit extra on top of that to write down my weekly thoughts in an article. I'm already watching every Denver game twice, so it's only a small chore to add a weekly recap on top of that. I've kept up a set of rankings, off and on, for years now, so all I have to do is carve out a bit of time to make sure the updates are a bit more regular. I've been doing picks pools at work since forever, so joining the staff pick pool is just business as usual. If I divide how much I get paid by how much total time I spend on activities related to my writing, it will sometimes look a little bit depressing. If I divide how much I get paid by how much ADDITIONAL time I spend as a result of my writing (as opposed to what I'd spend if I wasn't writing for FBGs), it's actually a pretty decent amount. I was already going to spend most of that time with no compensation, so there's real value to me if I can add a little bit more time spent and get a little bit of money to show for it. I'm not relying on the money, but it makes for a nice bonus. Plus, Sunday Ticket and Game Rewind become tax write-offs.
Honestly, I've been beyond honored to have a chance to work for FBGs, even if I'm not going to get rich doing it. The fact that I can get a little bit extra for doing something that I love, the fact that I can basically set my own schedule and work around the time I spend with my son... it's really invaluable to me. I couldn't be happier with it.
I'm a guinea pig for money-making fantasy savants. That's got to be the ultimate slacker job, right up there with video game testing. Not knocking it, I'm sure it takes some talent and some smarts.
