Skip to Content

50 High Paying Sports Related Career ideas

Are you energetic, ambitious and fun loving? Do you want to pursue a sports related career? If YES, here are 50 high paying career ideas in the sports industry. Sports all over the globe is one activity that has lots of followers. In America, the case is the same as there are more and more people taking to sports. On the other hand, this is one activity that is capable of making people rich and this is because of the career that it provides. The truth remains that with the right career in the industry, one can be successful.

The Sports Industry, from the perspective of a layman is a little industry with little or no space for job seeking individuals, But a well-focused individual can actually brawn his knowledgeable prowess and pitch a tent in this industry.

Why Pursue a Career in the Sports Industry?

The sports industry is a broad multibillion dollar industry which just one man can never cover, It has numerous smaller niches like Technology and Analytic, Marketing and Community Outreach, Facilities and Events, Fitness and Recreation etc. that can provide a career job for Career seeking individuals .

You don’t necessarily need to be an athlete to land a career job in the sports industry; it takes just a disciplined and focused mind to have a shot at greatness. Opportunity indeed doesn’t come once because the more chances and avenues you create the more opportunities. Many have neglected this industry because of their belief that one must have athletic prowess in other to survive or land a lucrative career job.

Listed and briefly explained below are 50 Career ideas in the sports industry for a career focused individual;

50 High Paying Sports Related Career ideas

  1. Become a Sports Coach

A Sports coach is an individual who is responsible for the operation of a sports team. He/she is in charge of the training of sports people, direction and instruction of a sports team and also make game plans for the success and progress of the team.

Apart from educational institutions, many private clubs seek coaches to manage their teams and also to teach youngsters. Upcoming sportspersons sometimes employ personal coaches to improve and optimize their performance. This sport career came into limelight in the mid-20s and today, Sport coaches are among the highest earners in the world.

  1. Become an Assistant Sports Coach

In the sports industry, an Assistant sports Coach is an individual(s) who is a member of a team’s coaching staffs. An Assistant Sports Coach is the subordinate or the right hand man to a team’s coach; his/her duty is to enforce discipline and caution among athletes.

In the absence of a team Coach or in most cases suspension of the Coach, the Assistant Coach takes care of the team affairs and also coordinate all team activities. This sports career has been neglected and underrated for so long but we’ve all fail to concur to the fact that assistant coaches in major foreign leagues earn within $600,000 to $1,600,000 annually.

  1. Become an Athletic Director

Athletic directors are individuals with at least a bachelor’s degree who directs athletic activities, supervises the coordination of athletic events and manage the Athletic department’s budget in Secondary schools and Universities. The Athletic director most times is in charge of employing and sacking of team coaches and also the accessing of the sports team’s success and development. This sport career is lucrative but requires experience and commitment.

  1. Become an Assistant Athletic Director

An Assistant Athletic Director just like the Assistant coach is the subordinate of a sports Athletic director. He Oversees the implementation of Athletics programs and policies, he She enforces discipline and also aides with the sports team budgeting and finances.

The Assistant Athletic Director communicates with the athletes, promote academic achievements and in all cases reports back to the Athletic Director. The work of an assistant athletic director is tiresome but can never be underestimated for it is a career that can keep a career focused individual active and on a large pay check.

  1. Become a Physical Education Instructor

A Physical education instructor or teacher is a professional who educates school students on how to live healthy lifestyles by instigating and encouraging them to take part in daily exercise and different sports.

He/She also teaches them to play and participate in these sports, administer tests, monitor students’ progress, meeting the Physical needs of students, grading and communicating with the teachers and their parents on the various ways to improve the Physical life of the students. Physical education teachers are most times the athletics coach for different sports in their schools due to experience and expertise in the field.

  1. The Athletic program development director

The Athletic program development director also known as the director of Athletics development  Oversees the day-to-day operations, management of benefits, annual seat assessments, ticket allocations for season tickets as well as other games, administration of the priority points system, and supervision of special events. He/She contributes to a work environment that encourages knowledge of, respect for, and development of skills to engage with those of other cultures or backgrounds.

  1. Sports Information Director

A sports information director is the public relation officer of a sports team. His duties encompass providing statistics, team and player notes and other information about a sports team to the news media and general public.

Every modern competitive sports team has a sports information director who leads their media team and serves as their publicist in other to manage the amount of subtle information been passed to the media houses or their fans and general public. Sports information directors document and publicize the accomplishments of athletes and the teams they represent.

  1. Sports Physical Therapist

Even sports teams need individuals to treat athletes injuries and focused individuals with basic qualification in sports medicine can still pitch a huge net in the sports industry as a therapist or a member of the medical team. A sports physical therapist also known as a Sports medicine therapist is that individual that specializes in the treatment and rehabilitation of sport and athletic injuries.

Sports medicine therapists are trained in anatomy and physiology, nutrition, exercise science, and rehabilitative techniques as they affect or involve the athletics. Sports medicine therapists work one-on-one with the players to build therapeutic techniques and ensuring that all rehabilitation plans stay on course. This career is a very important one in the sport industry and can never be underestimated. Sports medicine therapists are also licensed professionals and can also work in hospitals, clinics and other health care institutions.

  1. Medical Assistant

A Medical Assistant or more natively known as a Nurse is part of a sports medical team that attend to patients usually under the supervision of a Medical Therapist. Aside from typical Medical Assistant responsibilities; such as questioning patients and collecting their medical history, the supervising physician may have the assistant educate patients on issues, procedures, treatments and preventive measures related to musculoskeletal injuries.

Basic interpretation of lab results, taking blood from finger sticks and putting together samples for laboratory analysis are also common tasks. Procedural duties can include preparing patients for an EKG, spirometers test or X-ray, while patient care may involve wound dressing, fabricating/applying splints and fitting crutches. Patient intakes for injury severity, such as using a goniometer to assess range-of-motion, may also be handled by a medical assistant.

  1. Sports Medicine Aides

Just as the demand for physical therapists and athletic trainers rise in this modern age, so will the need for assistance in training rooms and sports medicine facilities. A Sports Medicine Aide assists Physical therapists and Athletic trainers with menial and basic tasks like applying hot and cold packs or helping a patient into a hot or cold whirlpool.

Medicine aides are most times referred to as physical therapy aides or athletic trainer aides (depending on who they’re helping); sports medicine aides can also monitor clients as they perform therapeutic exercises. Most times the Physical Therapist or the Athletics trainer might be attending to numerous individuals. They may also need to spend an extended time with a particular person.

The Aides assistance in needed for the rest of the people being treated to continue with their practice and exercise, but it should be known that the Medicine Aide is there to supervise the exercise and not to modify or add to the workout, without first checking with the sports medicine professional in charge.

  1. Assistant Athletic Trainer

The Assistant Athletic trainer is a subordinate to the Athletics trainer. The Assistant Athletic trainer provides or rather sees to the affairs of the athletes and also aid in administrative duties. He/She also aids with the coordination and scheduling of medical coverage for home and away competitions and also in record keeping and documentation.

  1. Physical Therapist Assistant

A Sports physical therapist assistant helps physical therapists with the treatment of individuals who have limited mobility under. Physical therapist assistants specialize in sports physical therapy through on-the-job training. Physical therapist assistant differ from Medicine aides because they are licensed.

Physical therapist assistant is a health inclined sports career and according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS); employment in this field is expected to rise by 41% between 2012 and 2022, and the annual salary for assistants in all areas of physical therapy were $54,330 as of 2014.

  1. Sports Massage Therapist

It is so amazing to find out that many careers can be aligned into the sports industry for focused minds in search of a better opportunity or rather for individuals trying to engage into more work and earn more. Your masseur/masseuse can be that person because just like every other individual, even sports people need massages. A Sports Massage therapist is a massage therapist who concentrates on sports rehabilitation techniques, they use touch to massage and treat muscles that are sore as a result of a sports-related injury.

  1. Sports and Fitness Nutritionist

A Sports and Fitness Nutritionist is an individual who is responsible for educating athletes and those wanting to be fit effective ways to improve their health, optimize their performance and manage their weight. They also advice individuals especially athletes on dietary practices; exercise; and use of vitamins, minerals and supplements.

  1. Strength and Conditioning Coach

A strength and Conditioning Coach is a professional employed to oversee the growth in fitness and physical performance through exercise and workouts. They also help to rejuvenate injured athletes, prevent injury using muscle building mechanics. This career is a vital point in the sports industry. The Strength and Conditioning Coach is part of the coaching staff and sees to the training of athletes to ascertain game Fitness.

  1. Exercise Physiologist

Scientists are not meant for the laboratory alone or to shut their doors in isolation while going through rigorous processes to create a new patent. They are also needed in the sports industry to provide scientific support at various levels to athletes and teams within a single sport or several sports. This may involve monitoring training through the measurement and assessment of the Physical functions of the players like respiratory, metabolism etc.

The exercise psychologist also performs Fitness tests on the athletes and other sports people to ascertain their accurate physiological profile. He/She also educates and advises athletes and coaches on areas such as heart rate monitoring, recovery techniques, hydration strategies, overtraining, acclimatization and periodization (the breaking down of a training program into a cycle of sub-programmes). They are the scientific body of a sports team.

  1. Sports Physician

A well nurtured or rather focused individual can also work as a Sports physician in the sports industry. With the annual graduation of medical doctors and other individuals in other health institutions, and the scantiness of jobs, the sports industry is never a bad idea for a focused mind to pitch his/her tent as a physician.

A sports physician also known as a Sports medical doctor diagnoses and treats any medical conditions which regular exercisers or sports persons encounter like exercise induced asthma, diabetes, cardiac abnormalities and all other mishaps the Physical Therapist cannot handle.

  1. Sports Psychologist

Psychology as it is known is an academic discipline and an applied science which strives to study the human mind and behavior. Just like everyone needs a psychologist once in a while, athletes also need a sport psychologist. A sports Psychologist tries to understand how the athletes way of thinking or problems affect their sports activities and also how the sports activities affect the athletes way of reasoning and behaving.

Sports Psychologist most times talk to players in the soccer world, giving them the vibe and encouragement to go on and win or lose their game. Sports Psychologists are known to make within $50,000 to $150,000 annually.

  1. Sportscaster

Journalism covers a whole lot of careers and jobs, from management to broadcasting, writing and technical work. Sports broadcasting is a sought-after career with a great deal of competition for on-air and writing positions. With rapid growth in television, newspapers/ magazines and other media, sports journalism has surely surfaced as a highly paid profession.

A Sportscaster is an individual who reports, comments and analyze, often in an on-air or writing role about sports, teams and individuals entirely. Sportscasters are unarguably famous and rich, even a little child who watches soccer or even tries a little Playstation soccer game would know Jim Beglin and Mark Lawrence as Sportscasters.

  1. Sports News Reporter

A Sports news reporter is part of sports broadcasting. A sports news reporter research information, bring up news stories, write articles on current events and issues, and then wrap up the news for broadcasts. Sports reporting typically happen quickly as sporting news unveil.

These individuals attend sporting events, interview athletes, coaches and other sports figures, they respond to current sporting events including outcomes and scores, injuries and knocks, sports dignitaries and all other sports related information. Sports reporters may work for local or national television companies, newspapers, radio stations or online organization.

  1. Television Sports Producer

To secure or build a career here, one must have a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and also many years of experience in the broadcasting industry. Being a Television Sports producer has a number of responsibilities, which may include choosing Sportscasters and crew members, establishing budgets and raising production funds.

Television Sports Producer also establishes production budgets and strives to make sure that a project is completed within a stipulated time and a given cost. The success of the final show surely rests with the television producer, who oversees the progress and mistakes that occur during the process.

  1. Radio Sports Producer

Being a radio sports producer just like any other media producer is not a job you can land in a fortnight. It requires educational background and concrete experience in the field to be able to become a radio sports producer because it is a job that comes with tight deadlines, time constraints and even late work hours. A Radio sports producer selects, edit and prepare audio content for broadcast on radio shows. They most times operate the broadcast soundboard, record and edit interviews, and writing broadcast scripts.

  1. Internet Sports Producer

Just as the name implies, an Internet Sports Producer is the producer of a sports news website. Even the ESPN, Sky sports and other American sports websites need producers to oversee the affairs of the website. Just like other producers in the sports industry, an Internet Sports Producer selects, edits and arranges articles, pictures, videos for the website and also seek out ways to promote or increase the popularity of the website.

  1. Sports Writer

Sport writers are those individuals who raise the articles or information the producers and the media crew work with. Sports writers ensure that fans or readers are getting the latest developments and news on their favorite teams. In addition to writing about what happens in the games, sports writers also write their opinions about trades, possible transfers, rumors, free agents, and coaching strategies.

Also, sports writers can decide to write about up-and-coming players, team histories and dynamics, playoff predictions, and so forth. Essentially, sports writers can write about any aspect of the game that they choose.

  1. Sports Photographer

The sports photographs been seen or admired in this century of ours were taken by focused individuals called Sports Photographer. A sports Photographer takes photos of athletes both at outdoor and indoor sporting events. They can also work as freelancers, taking photos of athletes and happening events at sporting events and selling action shots to magazines, newspapers and sports enthusiasts.

Some sports photographers work for sporting teams and organizations and take pictures that are mass-produced into commercial products to generate revenue. Sports photographers who also work as journalists, known as photojournalists, write articles to complement their photographs.

  1. Sports Talk Show Host

The talk show career had made many people famous starting from Liam Bartlett of Nine’s Wide World of Sports to a whole lot more. But Sports Talk Show is a more direct and competitive form of talk show. It requires expertise, versatility and charisma to be able to dominate. The duties of a Sports Talk Show Host includes preparing and delivering contents about issues to be discussed, they choose the program’s topics and guests, conduct interviews, speak with call-in listeners on the air and host special events.

  1. Sports Columnist

Sports columnists respond to letters from people concerning sports. A columnist can be a member of a media house or rather be a freelance writer. Their columns may appear in newspapers, magazines or on websites. Sport Columnist also writes about teams, players and possible news in the sports industry and then awaits response from his adherent readers.

  1. Sports Editor

All sports articles written for a media house needs to be edited and organized to suit the public and surely it is someone’s work to do. A sports Editor ensure the written quality of sports article. A sports editor’s duty might include reading manuscripts, correcting grammatical or factual errors and making recommendation for improvement. They may also be responsible for choosing articles for publication, assisting with design layout and overseeing the project.

  1. Sports Publisher

After a sports article has been written by sports writers, edited by sports editors, it is now left for the publisher to publish those articles for the general public. A sports Publisher work in the book, sports newspaper and periodical industries directing the production and distribution process. Their duties can involve selecting which books to publish, deciding how many copies to print and marketing the writers or authors.

  1. Scouts

In the sports industry, scouts are professionals who travel greatly to watch young athletes participate in their sports and then decide if their skills and prowess can be of great benefit to the sport team he or she represents. The job of a scout requires traveling to sporting events, adjusting to different weather and cultures, and it is also a time consuming job.

But it can’t be denied that scouts in this modern age are one of the highest earners in the sports industry and they get the luxury of visiting places. For you to be a scout, you have to first and foremost have the passion for the trade. This is very important so that you do not perform below expectation when you eventually begin to operate as a scout.

  1. Team President

A Team President is the Chief Executive Officer of a sports establishment. The main duty of the team president is to make money or rather generate revenues for the team. The Team president directs the affairs of a sports franchise. This career is a very important career in the sports industry and not just anyone can land this lucrative job.

The team president is the chief business man of a sports franchise and must know the sport inside out. He/She strives to make use of any money making avenue possible in other to boost the income of the establishment and this may include concessions; box seats; season tickets; corporate accounts; souvenirs; broadcast rights and licensing fees.

  1. General Manager

This is a career position available in every sports team if not already occupied but the fact remains that every sport franchise needs a general manager in its day to day activity. To be able to land this job, one needs to understand the sports business right from the foundation up to the roofs. The General Manager is the person in the front office of all sports business and it’s tasked with the development of a winning team and overseeing every operation of the team.

  1. Business Manager

Looking for the guy handling all the finances, documents and business administration of a sports franchise, here he is. A degree in business administration or related fields is a criterion for this sports industry career. The business manager works directly with the general Manger and serves as the money house of the establishment – Money used for transfers, payment of salaries, maintenance and all other affairs.

  1. The Director of Minor League Operation

The director of Minor League operations takes care of the major league team’s minor league affiliate teams operations, and coordinates between them. The minor league team is more like the Team B of the major league team. A place where young athletes are trained and later picked up to join the major league team. The director manages the team, creates a connection between them and the Team A.

  1. Marketing Director

The Marketing Director is the sales person of a sports franchise. The job of a marketing director is to sell the team, its brands, its player and its businesses to the general public. The marketing director aligns with the Promotion, Advertising and Public Relations department of the establishment. Mostly the salary of a Marketing director depends on the team’s popularity and success.

  1. Promotion Director

The promotion director’s duty remains strictly in promoting the team. A promotion director must be creative and well nurtured in the ways of winning the heart of the general public. A sports establishment cannot survive if its popularity and income is stagnant. The sports promotion director can invent ideas on how to promote the team and its various brands.

  1. Director of Community Relations

This job circles around involving and perforating the team into community services. Community services aids to improve the team’s popularity and the way they are viewed my general public. The Director of Community Relations works with the promotion department to build an outstanding reputation for good deeds and commitment for the team. This career can never be neglected in the sports industry and coordinators and assistants in the community relation earn at least $50,000 annually in the English Premier League.

  1. The Ticket Operations Manager

Every establishment needs money and the sports industry isn’t left out. Ticket selling represents one of the major ways revenues are generated in the sports industry and the individual in charge of the selling of tickets, season passes, sky boxes, game day sales, and managing a staff that includes 10-day-per-season workers and a lot of interns is the Ticket Operations Manager. This sports career is a money making factory for the sports industry.

  1. Travelling Secretary

Most people would mistake this career as the normal office secretaries we have all gotten accustomed to. The travelling secretary or otherwise known as the Road Manager of a sports team is a very important personnel in the sports industry. All teams ranging from Manchester United football club to an Olympic team has a travelling secretary whose duty is to protect the life and property of every sports people travelling for a particular event. This job is a challenging, time consuming but an inspiring job.

  1. Executive Director

An Executive director in a sport establishment is a top notch in sports facilities management operations and just like an Executive director in any known establishment, an Executive director in a sports franchise is tasked with overseeing the utilization of sports venue, finances, business administration, maintenance, repairs, construction and whatever else comes up.

The Executive director also create means to raise money to maintain the stadium and the business premises even when not in use like bringing in a band and other entertainment strategy in other to fill the stands and pay rent.

  1. Stadium Manager

The job of a stadium manager is to physically take care of the sports venue. The stadium manager employs, supervises and sacks those working under him. A stadium Manager also known as A Sports facility Manger is like the building superintendent or supervisor of a sports venue. Once you are a stadium manager, then it means that you have to do all that is within your reach to make sure that all that is left within your care is in tiptop shape always.

  1. Sports Event Coordinator

A Sports Event Coordinator just like the name implies is the professional who is in charge of the social life of a sports franchise. He/She is responsible for the everything that happens in the court or the field, this same person is responsible for the parking, seating capacity, facility modifications, traffic, media, public relations, players accommodations, concessions utility hookups and hooking up with the press at cocktail parties; whatever it takes to make things work. The Sports events coordinator takes charge and makes sure that everything works out.

  1. Equipment Manager

The equipment manager is the person in charge of all the gears and equipment in a sport facility. The equipment Manager is the individual in charge of transporting gears for sports activities if needs be and also the maintenance of these gears. Before you can delve into this career, you have to first of all have a rich knowledge about the various equipment that exists.

  1. Scoreboard Operator

With the advancement of technology and the use of electronic scoring and entertainment systems, someone needs to be employed to operate this system and that is the Scoreboard Operator. The Scoreboard Operator should understand the sport and relinquish distractions in other to pay full attention and also update the systems when the need arises.

  1. Public Address Announcer

Being a public address Announcer in a sport game might not make you visible in terms of your face but can still make one famous. A public address Announcer is not a commentator, broadcasting or a sports analyst but the individual who makes vital announcement like substitution in a sport event. In America, there have been notable sports commentators that existed. As such, then industry is still a very thriving one and you can boast of good money when you learn the ropes appropriately.

  1. Sport Officials or Referees

Every sport event needs an official to instigate discipline and control the tempo of the game. These officials are trained in the act of the supposed sports, to understand the do and don’ts. They belong to an association and they also identify infractions of rules and choose penalties in accordance to the sports established regulations.

Being a career person in this industry does mean that you get all the adequate training that is required of you to stand out in this field. If you are interested in this career, then you can begin to think of becoming a consultant when you get all the knowledge required.

  1. Sports Agents

This career is a renowned career in the sports industry because they are the middle man between the athletes they represent, teams of interest and also endorsement companies. They negotiate on behalf of their client who is an athlete and when they are not negotiating they are promoting their client. Sports Agents are known to be high on the pay check in the sports industry like the Agent of Gareth Bale – Jonathan Barnett gained £10 million in his client record move to Real Madrid. A pure example of the amount of money waiting to be earned in the sports Industry.

  1. Golf Instructors

A gold instructor is someone who teaches people how to play golf, the etiquette and facets of the game. A golf instructor must be very proficient in the game. Golf is often referred to as a rich man’s game because of the caliber of people who pick interest in the game. Golf instructors are not common in this part of our continent but it is envisaged that between 2014 to 2022, golf as a game will experience an increase in demand of play and professionalism.

  1. Fitness instructors

A fitness trainer is a professional who is well educated in the field of exercise prescription and Fitness instruction. In this modern age, nobody wants to get fat or even get to be given insulin injections as they age so keeping fit and burning cholesterol and body facts have become necessary.

Fitness instructors are in vogue now due to the commitments by individuals to remain up and fit. A fitness trainer prompts his/her clients by providing a certain goal. They also assess their client’s brawns and weaknesses with fitness assessments. Cruise ships also employ Fitness trainers for their trips and passengers.

  1. Rock Climbing Instructors

With the growth of technology and modernization, rock climbing is now the order of the day. Rock climbing as a sport is all about high perches, specific rope knots, and safe rappelling. A rock climbing instructor teaches people how to climbing successfully. This sport is synonymous with scaling our everyday problems and routes. A rock climbing instructor must be knowledgeable in this field and also have experience of the sport.

The above explained 50 Career ideas are the few career ideas out of many more opportunities in the sports industry. The sports industry on its own needs general promotion for people to understand the opportunities they are ignorant about, the sport industry also needs promotion generally in order to increase the profile of less known sports, such as volleyball, badminton and rock climbing.

The sports industry is a frenzy industry waiting to be explored and the career ideas are awesome and never obsolete. Landing a career in this present age would not be a hard task if we as focused individuals diversify our search – For Varieties they say is the Spice of life.