Football season is in full swing. For the next few months, stores will stuff their shelves with NFL teamwear, restaurants will celebrate with their Monday night specials and some of us will lose a loved one to the world of fantasy football.

Active participants of fantasy football consider the virtual competition to be a demanding commitment and treat it as a second job. It’s cute, really.

Their free time is invested in cultivating the most successful fake football teams. They even set their alarms to wake up earlier than normal in an effort to not be left with “slim pickins” on their imaginary draft day.

If fantasy football participants are not studying players’ stats, they are watching YouTube videos arguing about players’ stats. If they are not on the phone texting or taunting their competition about the virtual game, they are out doing it while splitting a pitcher at the bar.

For the most part, fantasy football seems to be a mere distraction. The relatively friendly competition used to only cut into some family time. At this point it has not been something that requires therapy or medication to wean off of.

It is, however, affecting productivity in the workplace. And for being a mere distraction, fantasy football is apparently quite costly.

Fantasy football may cost employers more that $13 billion in lost productivity, according to an article by Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz of the Chicago Tribune.

The value was estimated by CEO John A. Challenger of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a consulting firm based out of Chicago. He came to the figure using average hourly earnings on private payrolls and the number of employed fantasy sports participants. He also estimated that each employed participant spent two hours a week on fantasy football while on company time over the course of the 15-week fantasy football schedule,

Fantasy football leagues are dedicating huge chunks of their days to crafting their bogus team. If participants have already started ignoring the responsibilities of both work and home, it is a slippery slope to addiction.

It is to no one’s surprise that restaurants and entertainment have been capitalizing on the fantasy football addiction.

Restaurants like Hooters and Dave & Buster’s advertise for fantasy football groups to hold fantasy draft day at their site. They compete with other restaurants by offering group spaces complete with wi-fi, laptop spaces and a “fantasy football kit” for the group organizer.

There is even a television show called “The League”. The comedy attempts to showcase the culture behind fantasy football groups and even presents situations where the characters neglect their jobs, families and responsibilities to attain success in their virtual competition.

Football season may be fleeting, but we should still be mindful of the time invested in it.

Cheer on your team and make some cash on the side. But fantasy football participants should remember at the end of the day, it is called “fantasy” for a reason.