15 Best Sports Jobs You Can Do From Home

The global sports market was valued at an estimated $440.8 billion in 2021 (Source), despite being in the midst of a global pandemic. This just shows that there are millions of sports fans and sports lovers out there.

Most people think that the only way to make money in the sports industry is to be a professional athlete and rake in millions of dollars to play plus several more millions in endorsement deals.

But it’s not the case! A thriving industry means a strong demand for different types of jobs, even ones you can do from home. You don’t even have to be an athlete!

Check out these 10 great remote sports jobs you can apply for today, as well as other ways to make money with your passion for sports.

15 Sports Jobs You Can Do From Home

Before we dive into this list, let me recommend starting your job search on FlexJobs.

It’s no ordinary job board. FlexJobs carefully vets all the companies and employers that post job vacancies on their site, so that job applicants can be sure that they’re applying to legit opportunities.

Aside from FlexJobs opportunities, here are a few sports jobs you can do from your couch or from your favorite coffee shop or coworking space.

1. Sports Manager

If you’re interested in a leadership role that you can do from home, you can work as a sports manager for a small team.

Sports managers handle the business side of sports teams. They’re in charge of hiring staff, managing budgets, organizing events, negotiating contracts, and handling media interactions.

Admittedly, while sports managers for professional or national-level teams travel with the team a lot, they aren’t really the work-from-home type of jobs.

But you can start managing smaller, amateur teams from home. There are fewer moving parts such that you can easily do this over the internet.

You can continue managing smaller sports teams or you can earn a certification or a master’s degree in sports management so you can apply to larger teams.

2. Sports Agent

Sports agents manage, represent, and support athletes in negotiating contracts and deals with teams and sponsors.

Their duties include recruiting new talent, building trusting relationships with the athletes they represent, negotiating player contracts, managing finances and investments, handling PR communications, overseeing marketing strategies and promotions, and setting overall goals with their clients.

As you can imagine, establishing trust is a big part of sports agent duties, as athletes would have to rely on their sports agents with financial matters, public image, and essentially their career track.

If you’re only just trying to break through, you’ll likely attract minor league athletes and lower-value contracts, but as you build your reputation, you can eventually attract bigger-name athletes and larger contracts.

Sports teams, sports associations, and sports agencies would expect you to have an undergraduate degree in sports management or a related field. You may also be required to travel with your client if required.

Some training in contract law, marketing and PR, and investments would also be useful in this career.

3. Sports Marketer

Marketing is actually a huge part of the sports industry. Targeting new audiences, increasing fan support, and attracting sponsorships all require marketing skills.

Sports teams hire marketers to promote their brand and their image through various channels to ensure high attendance numbers and drive ticket sales up.

Sports goods, apparel, and merchandise companies hire marketers as well to help create branding and marketing strategies.

Other companies may also hire sports marketers to promote their products and services during sporting events and competitions, and also to deal with individual athletes for endorsements.

Since digital marketing is now fundamental to reaching an audience, most of the work can be done online, and hence can be done remotely.

Most sports marketing jobs require a bachelor’s degree, preferably one in marketing, advertising, or journalism.

4. Sports Graphic Designer

Being a graphic designer hardly seems like a sports job, but the sports industry actually needs plenty of graphic designers.

Sports graphic designers create all kinds of visual content for their clients.

Sports teams hire graphic designers to design logos and images for publicity materials, merchandise, and apparel. You might even be asked to design or redesign a mascot.

You can also find work with leading athletic wear or athleisure brands to come up with designs on their clothes, for their marketing materials, or their website and social media.

As a graphic designer, you’ll have to be proficient in using design software, such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, and other industry-standard software.

A bachelor’s degree isn’t usually required but is definitely an advantage. Your portfolio and your experience would be greater factors in getting hired.

5. Sports Statistician

If you’re a baseball fan, you’d know that data and statistics are important factors in assessing players and entire teams.

Other sports are quickly catching up to the use of data analysis to scout players, predict game outcomes, improve player and team performance, and increase game attendance.

The increasing popularity of fantasy sports leagues and sports betting sites are also driving the need for more sports statisticians.

Sports statisticians can work as statistical recorders, where you watch sporting events virtually and record the data during the game in real-time. You might be hired by sports leagues to prepare summarized reports for press releases, organize the raw data into the final official records, and update records as necessary, such as when scoring rules change or when there are disputes.

Sports statisticians can also be the ones who analyze sports data, create their own statistical models to predict future performance, and present this data either to sports teams or to fantasy league owners so they can select the best players for each position (whether it’s for real or fantasy teams).

Most employers would require at least a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, statistics, or any other related field. Having a master’s degree in the same courses is certainly an advantage, as well as having at least a certificate or a double major in sports management.

6. Sportswriter

If you love sports as much as you love writing, being a sportswriter can be a great career choice for you.

Sportswriters deliver informative, relevant, and engaging written content related to a particular sport.

It involves watching the games (whether in-person or virtually), being updated on the latest news and current developments of the sport, interviewing players, coaches, and other prominent people in the sport, and developing sources within the industry.

The usual sports article is about game outcomes, but you can also write about athlete injuries, player trades, drafts, and other important news that sports fans will be potentially interested in.

You can write articles as straightforward news with facts only, or share informed opinions in addition to the facts.

Many sportswriters focus on a single sport, while others prefer writing about all the sports in their local city or region.

You can apply to work for newspapers, sports blogs, magazines, and other media companies as a contributing sports writer.

Another option is to write as a freelance sports writer so you don’t have to choose a single company to write for.

Employers would normally look at your passion for sports and your writing skills, but having a bachelor’s degree in journalism is definitely an advantage. Having experience in the sport or sports you’re writing about, such as being a former player or coach will also give you an edge over other writers.

Of course, if you’re freelancing, these wouldn’t matter as much as your writing portfolio.

While being a sports writer is not the highest-paying career on this list, this is probably one of the easiest sports jobs to start doing.

7. Social Media Producer

A sports social media producer creates sports-related content, such as videos, images, and audio, and publishes them on social media sites, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Social media producers know their target audience, are aware of current events, and are able to engage with followers and fans.

The main objective is to increase social media followings, and also to direct traffic from social media to the companies’ actual websites or landing pages promoting a specific product or service.

Some of the companies that hire social media producers include sports media and broadcasting companies, professional and amateur sports leagues, sports teams, sports gear and apparel companies, and other related companies.

A bachelor’s degree is usually preferred, but not required. Potential employers pay attention more to your computer skills, video and photo editing skills, and communication skills.

You have even more of an edge if you have certifications in Photoshop, HTML, and CSS, as well as in social media marketing and advertising.

8. Health and Fitness Coach

This sounds like one of the more conventional sports jobs on this list, but you can do this job from home, thanks to vast improvements in technology.

Online fitness coaches work with clients to improve their fitness levels, overall health, and body image, all through an online platform.

You can also work as an online sports coach where you focus on a particular sport and exercises to improve performance in that specific sport.

You can either do this live; that is, simultaneously with your client. Or you can prerecord your exercises and let your audience stream or download it for a fee.

Personal trainers normally include a custom workout plan per client. If you have a degree or certification in nutrition, you can also include nutrition plans with the workout plans to have an overall fitness plan.

You can apply to gyms and fitness companies that are also offering virtual workouts (since the pandemic, this service has become more popular than ever). Sports clubs, community centers, small sports teams, and sometimes schools also offer similar jobs.

Or you can work as an online personal trainer for yourself.

9. Athletic Director

If you are a fan of amateur sports and have experience in supervisory positions, being an athletic director may be right up your alley.

Athletic directors supervise athletic departments at middle schools, high schools, colleges, universities, and other organizations with sports programs, such as youth clubs, sports camps, and amateur sports clubs and organizations.

Some of your responsibilities include hiring coaches and support staff (team doctors, academic coordinators, etc.), creating and implementing policies for the athletic program, keeping track of the budget and spending, managing public relations and marketing plans, planning game schedules and team travel, ensuring the safety and eligibility of players, and making sure that the entire athletic program runs smoothly.

Given the wide array of duties, you’ll need to have at least some experience in education and business administration. Aside from management skills, you’ll also need to be able to communicate with all sorts of personalities, from strict coaches to stubborn athletes.

Most of all, you’ll need to be the kind of leader that commands respect and respects the efforts of everyone to mold young athletes and get them ready for the future.

A bachelor’s degree in athletic administration is most desirable, but sports management, physical education, or any other sports-related field is usually acceptable as well.

But even if you don’t have these credentials, a vast leadership and management experience and enthusiasm for amateur sports can certainly get you considered for this sports job.

10. Sports Sales Representative

If you’re a salesperson who would love to work a sports job, you can work as a sales representative from home.

Sports companies employ sales representatives to sell sporting equipment, athletic wear, accessories, sports nutrition products, and other sports goods to individuals, retailers, distributors, or purchasing departments of schools, gyms, community centers, recreational facilities, and other athletic institutions.

Sports teams and sports leagues also hire sales reps to sell advertising space, such as on their websites, game day programs, stadiums, billboards, and other displayed materials.

You can also go into a more niche area of sports therapy and rehabilitation and sell implants and instruments to doctors and surgeons treating sports-related injuries and disabilities.

As with all sales jobs, you’d need to have a working knowledge of what you’re selling, excellent communication skills both online and in-person, and the ability to adapt to changing technology and customer tastes. You’d have to exude confidence, as well as handle rejection well.

11. Sports Betting Analyst

Sports Betting Analysts are super-skilled with researching and analyzing sports data, trends, and statistics. They use these up-to-date research to provide valuable insights and predictions for sports bettors.

As a sports betting analyst, you have a choice of working independently or employing with a sports betting platforms. You can also land a management role, as someone who manages sports betting websites.

Sports betting analysts earn between $20 and $50 an hour, depending on expertise and platform they work on.

With strong analytical skills, and a keen eye for identifying betting opportunities, sports betting analysts can find jobs in sports media outlets, betting forums and online communities, and betting platforms like DraftKings, FanDuel, or BetMGM.

12. Sports Event Planner

As a sports event planner, you will be responsible for creating and managing events, tournaments, competitions, races, fan-meet-and-greets, and other similar events.

This role involves using marketing strategies to increase ticket/merch sales, engage fans, and ensure there are attendees (fans and the press).

Sports event planners are hired by sports teams and leagues, sports marketing agencies, and sometimes individual athletes who require special PR and additional fan engagement.

As a sports event planner, you can earn between $20 and $45 per hour. Most of the job can be done from the comfort of your own homes, but you need to be present during the actual event.

13. Sports App Developer

As a sports app developer, you can combine your love of sports with your experience in app development.

On this role, you’ll be developing and maintaining sports-related mobile apps or websites, such as fitness, training, or tracking apps.

This is an IT job with knowledge of UI/UX, data integration and programming. You should be an expert in cross-platform development (websites, apps for iOS/Android, and so on) using appropriate programming tools and languages.

Aside from athletes and sports organizations, sports app developers can also find jobs within the mobile app development industry.

Entry-level developers could earn around $30, while experienced sports app developer (with a portfolio) could take home from $60 to $100 a hour.

14. Sports Medical Consultant

A sports medical consultant provides remote medical advice and consultation services for sports-related injuries and health issues.

This type of consultant specializes in injury prevention, athlete evaluation, rehabilitation planning, concussion management, nutrition advice, and even performance enhancement.

Unlike physical therapists that need to be by the athlete’s side for every session, sports medical consultants can perform their jobs remotely.

You can find vacancies for this position at sports teams, sports leagues, sports medicine clinics, rehab centers, and specialty hospitals.

Sports medical consultants earn between $40 and $160 an hour, depending on experience, location and specialization.

15. Sports Psychologist

Sports psychologists provide counseling and mental coaching services to athletes in need of improving their mental and emotional performance.

These trained psychologists specialize in the management of stress, anxiety and fear, rehabilitation support, team building, goal setting, improving concentration, and overcoming other obstacles that affect an athlete’s performance.

Rates of sports psychologists start at around $60 an hour to up to $200 an hour.

Other Ways to Make Money From Home With Your Sports Obsession

Aside from working sports jobs, there are other ways you can make money from your love of sports.

You can even do these on the side while working your regular jobs.

Buy and Sell Sports Memorabilia

Hardcore sports fans will always be on the hunt for sports memorabilia.

And you can be the one to provide them.

Rare finds can easily fetch thousands at auction. Even not-so-rare memorabilia can still be turned into a profit if you get them at a good price.

You probably have some memorabilia of your own that you’re willing to let go of. Alternatively, you can find them on flea markets, thrift shops, yard sales, and storage auctions.

We’ve also described how to make money from selling baseball cards.

Run a Fantasy League

First off, I’m not talking about running a fantasy sports betting site; there’s too much legalese and gray areas that warrant its own separate article.

You can set up a site that caters to those who like fantasy leagues but don’t want to gamble.

While you’re not earning from betting, you can monetize the site through advertising, affiliate marketing, and charging participants membership fees.

Of course, building and monetizing an entire website takes months to develop into an actual income stream, but if you can generate a large, loyal following, it can tranlate into a pretty big payday for you.

Start a Sports Podcast

Got the gift of gab and love of the game?

Why not try your hand at starting a sports podcast?

Podcasts are highly popular nowadays, and anyone with a mid-level microphone, an audio mixer software, and an internet connection can talk about various topics, including sports, to your eager listeners.

Just like with starting a website, you might not earn very much at first, but if you manage to get advertising, sponsorship deals, and affiliate programs, podcasting can turn into a work-from-home sports job.

We’ve previously covered starting a podcast, which you can consult when trying to get your own podcast rolling.

Become an Online Commentator

If you fancy yourself as a pundit, why not give online commentary a shot?

Twitch has become home not only to video games and eSports, but also to more mainstream sports such as football.

Many sports creators have been “sidecasting” live games on their Twitch channels and commentating on these games, as well as sharing their pre-game and post-game thoughts with their fans.

Be mindful of broadcasting copyrighted content on your channel, though; you might be breaking the law.

There are various ways you can make money from your Twitch channel, and we’ve outlined several of them in this article.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re an athlete, a former athlete, or just passionate about sports, there are sports jobs out there for you.

And thanks to the internet, you can now combine the heart-pounding excitement of sports with the comfort and flexibility of home-based work.