The Least Productive Sports Fans After a Loss

Better keep this one from your boss, but that brutal defeat your favorite sports team just took? It might end up being a tough loss for them too. A new PromoGuy study found that over a third of working sports fans feel they underperform at work the day after a big loss, averaging 2.1 hours of lost productivity.

Main findings:

38% of U.S. sports fans with a paid job say they’re less productive at work the day after their favorite team suffers a major loss.
On average, working sports fans lose 2.1 hours of productivity the day after a big defeat, costing $74 per person.
California fans experience the biggest slump, losing an average of 4.3 hours the next day. That adds up to $177 per person, and a total statewide cost of $1.1 billion.
34% of U.S. sports fans say they’d trade a public holiday for a personal day to use after a painful loss or major win, with Columbus Day being the top choice to swap.

When your team loses, your focus does too

That missed penalty or brutal foul still running through your head during the morning meeting, putting you in a heavier mood than usual? You’re not alone. A full 38% of working American sports fans say they’re less focused at work the day after a painful loss by their favorite team, with productivity dipping by an average of 2.1 hours.

PromoGuy surveyed 2,000 employed sports fans across the country to find out how much a defeat affects their workday. Fans in South Carolina lead the way: a striking 61% say they struggle with productivity after a loss. On average, they lose about 2.3 hours of work time per day, which translates to approximately $73 per person based on the average hourly wage (Bureau of Labor Statistics, June 2025).

South Carolina may have the highest percentage of fans reporting a post-loss slump, but when it comes to actual hours lost, California takes the crown. Fans in California see the biggest dip in productivity, losing 4.3 hours on average; more than half a typical workday. That kind of dip comes with a price tag: an estimated $177 per person, per day.

Zoom out, and the cost is staggering. When you apply the math statewide — factoring in population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024), the estimated share of sports fans (67%, Ipsos, June 2025), labor force participation, and average hourly wages—the total productivity loss in California adds up to a jaw-dropping $1.1 billion.

Bottom line? A bad game doesn’t just wreck your mood — it hits your boss’s wallet too.

1 in 3 would trade a public holiday for a personal recovery day

In addition, 34% of respondents say that, if given the option, they’d prefer to swap a public holiday for a flexible day off to recover, whether after a tough defeat or a major win. When asked which national holiday they’d be most willing to give up, Columbus Day emerged as the most commonly chosen.

Which industries feel the biggest productivity slump?

Wondering which industries take the biggest hit in productivity after a tough game? Accountants top the list, with a striking 67% saying they’re noticeably less focused the day after their favorite team loses. Legal pros follow closely at 62%, then finance at 51%. The logistics sector also feels the sting, with half reporting a dip in productivity. Real estate rounds out the top five, with 48% admitting the loss affects their work.

Methodology

PromoGuy’s 2025 Post-Game Productivity Study surveyed U.S. sports fans between July 15 and 17, 2025, to assess how disappointing game results affect workplace productivity and its financial cost. The sample included 2,000 U.S.-based respondents who, upon signing up to the platform, indicated that they are sports fans and currently hold paid employment. Of all respondents, 73% identified as male, 26% as female, and 1% as non-binary. The average age was 41.3 years.

Participants were asked which state they live in, how many hours they work per week, the industry they work in, and whether they feel less productive at work the day after their favorite team loses an important game. Respondents reporting lower productivity were asked to estimate the typical number of hours affected.

The financial loss per person was calculated by multiplying the average number of unproductive hours reported by affected respondents in each state by that state’s average hourly wage, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024.

To calculate the total estimated cost per state, the following steps were taken:

Sports fans per state were estimated by multiplying each state’s population by 0.67 — based on a June 2025 IPSOS study showing that 67% of Americans identify as sports fans.
Employed sports fans were then calculated by multiplying that number by the state’s labor force participation rate, as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in June 2025.
Affected sports fans were estimated by multiplying the number of employed sports fans by the percentage of survey respondents in each state who said they were less productive at work after a disappointing game.
The total economic loss was calculated by multiplying the number of affected workers in each state by their average productivity loss in hours, and then by the state’s average hourly wage.

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This is how much your boss pays for your favorite team's losses