# What's the "Best" sport to have a career in? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 25, 2019, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-sport-to-have-a-career-in/828375 "2019-01-25T09:01:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-sport-to-have-a-career-in/828375/21 "2019-01-25T19:43:55Z")
Cricket used to be an utter non-starter in this, and it’s still not great, but a pro cricketer can now get signed to a variety of T20 leagues and earn their millions that way. Not many get to do it though, and I don’t think it’s quite in the same league still as some of these other sports. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-sport-to-have-a-career-in/828375/22 "2019-01-25T19:57:42Z")
You’ll probably have to define “average” a bit better. The average player of any sport is not a professional player. You have to be in the top (tiny)% of players to be a professional sports player. It’s fairly easy to define an average for specific leagues. There’s an average MLB player salary. But that doesn’t cover local and farm players. The average player who plays baseball professionally probably is not in the MLB. It’s harder for things like golf and tennis where leagues aren’t as well defined. There are “open” professional tournaments. Do we consider the average of all players That said, I think that people are sort of right that golf is a good bet, except… golf is dying. There are fewer people playing it and they are older and older. Golf courses are closing all over the place. Golf would have been a great suggestion 20 or 30 years ago. If you’re training your child right now, I think the NBA is a much better choice. It’s still on the rise and is more popular with younger and more affluent fans. In the 1970s, [professional bowlers made more than NFL players](https://priceonomics.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-professional-bowling/). Be wary of focusing on a sport in decline. ---
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-sport-to-have-a-career-in/828375/23 "2019-01-26T02:11:59Z")
I knew this was way more complicated then I imagined in the pub!! I appreciate the fact that since my son plays pro level he would already be elite. But I imagine Junior to be average elite, not superstar elite. I checked a couple of the links posted, based on that I’ve realized that Mr. Walrus is correct - I don’t think “average” is a good measure of salary potential. When I looked at the NBA numbers - I was blown away at how high the “average” was, but upon further inspection, that number is quite skewed based on the massive salaries paid to the biggest name players. I think perhaps median is a better measure? For what its worth - I’m already down about baseball. A lifetime ago, I played at a high amateur level. Although I was shitty, a couple guys I played with had major league farm team tryouts. Unless they were a 1 in 100,000 player, they were told they’d spend years in the minors daily bus travelling and making nothing and very few would ever go to MLB. I think when the years in the farm system are factored in average MLB players fail the grade. I picture his future selling used cars and people pointing to his picture on the wall and saying “Junior used to play in the majors…”. No thanks. Another friend’s son made NHL - good money for a few years, between $250K & $400K / year. But he retired in his late 20’s. He couldn’t compete with the speed and stamina of the early 20 year old kids that were coming up. He’s now selling used cars. I also considered golf: as DCnDc notes - it’s also very tough. A friend’s son is an amazing golfer and on a scholarship somewhere in AZ right now. He had a fantasy of PGA, he’s only 3rd year uni, but every weekend and every tourney that fantasy fades. As some of you guys noted, one bad week and you lose money after you pay for your travel, hotel etc. I suspect that’s where there are so few golfers from “economically disadvantaged families”, that persevere to the PGA, you need somebody with a large bankroll to support you. I’m hoping Junior can make it more on his talent. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-sport-to-have-a-career-in/828375/24 "2019-01-26T02:31:50Z")
Why is golf considered to be an “injury free” sport? Ask Tiger Woods about his back! Performing ANY sort of constant motion time and time again for years will almost certainly result in an injury. Years and years of swinging a golf club as hard as you can at a small ball sitting on a tee is bound to eventually cause some kind of injury to your body. Swinging a golf club is certainly not a natural motion like walking. Golf is less likely to cause you an injury than most sports, but Tiger didn’t need several back surgeries because he was in a car accident. ---
**Author:** ![Hawkeyeop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@Hawkeyeop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hawkeyeop)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-sport-to-have-a-career-in/828375/25 "2019-01-26T03:06:27Z")
It depends it lot what you mean by average or median. If you are the 400th best baseball player, you are still a starter. If you are the 400th best basketball player, you probably aren’t even in the league. So an average basketball player gets paid more, but the level of talent to get there is going to be much higher. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-sport-to-have-a-career-in/828375/26 "2019-01-26T04:19:46Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > Why is golf considered to be an “injury free” sport? > > {snip} > > Golf is less likely to cause you an injury than most sports You answered your own question. ---
**Author:** ![motu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/motu/32/259_2.png) [@motu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/motu)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2019, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-sport-to-have-a-career-in/828375/27 "2019-01-26T21:21:37Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > Golf is less likely to cause you an injury than most sports, but Tiger didn’t need several back surgeries because he was in a car accident. Not a car accident but Tiger’s injuries were probably more from the the intense military training he started after his father died. Not to say he doesn’t have issues from the repetitive motions of golf from very early childhood. [http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/\_/id/15278522/how-tiger-woods-life-unraveled-years-father-earl-woods-death](http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/15278522/how-tiger-woods-life-unraveled-years-father-earl-woods-death) ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2019, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-sport-to-have-a-career-in/828375/28 "2019-01-27T00:59:28Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > You answered your own question. “Less likely” does not equal “injury free”. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2019, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-sport-to-have-a-career-in/828375/29 "2019-01-27T01:06:56Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > “Less likely” does not equal “injury free”. Sealing envelopes isn’t “injury free” since you can get a papercut, but relatively speaking it is. It’s an activity that’s unlikely to lead to routine injuries. It’s low-impact and non-contact. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2019, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-sport-to-have-a-career-in/828375/30 "2019-01-27T04:48:03Z")
> [@motu](#): > > Not a car accident but Tiger’s injuries were probably more from the the intense military training he started after his father died. Not to say he doesn’t have issues from the repetitive motions of golf from very early childhood. Indeed, and even when he first turned pro (and was still pretty slender), Woods already had a very athletic, powerful swing. I remember reading an article during that time (probably in Golf Digest, which my father subscribed to for many years) in which several golf coaches discussed Woods and his swing, and postulated that he would eventually run into injury issues due to it. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2019, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-sport-to-have-a-career-in/828375/31 "2019-01-29T07:41:41Z")
I’m going to say soccer simply because there’s so many leagues and if you are willing to travel you can eek out a career if you have some talent. I know a guy who was in his mid 30s making $50,000 a year as a coach/player for a minor league AMERICAN team. In terms of “you had one job” there have been NFL players who have milked the bottle as “long snappers” and as mentioned before, kickers and punters. What about race car divers? Even in middle age, many of them can talk their way into seats. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2019, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-sport-to-have-a-career-in/828375/32 "2019-01-29T13:03:56Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > I’m going to say soccer simply because there’s so many leagues and if you are willing to travel you can eek out a career if you have some talent. The same is true of basketball. The NBA is the big time, but there’s bunches of other leagues out there in other countries. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-sport-to-have-a-career-in/828375.md?page=1)