What are the best-paid jobs in sport?

Contents

Business

Professional and high-level sportsman. But not all sports are equal in terms of income, with the highest earners being in football, basketball and golf.
The best-paid jobs are those with a Master’s 2 in marketing, finance or sports management. These include
In particular: sports betting specialist, sports journalist, Marketing Director, Sports Equipment Director, etc.
Practical advice on applying for one of these professions is given at the bottom of the page.

Training

Which sports training courses offer the best pay?

With the exception of professional sportspeople, who often join a training centre at a very young age, it’s no surprise that a Master’s or Master of Science degree (BAC+5) is the route to the best-paid jobs in sport and in general.

Having a BAC+5 enables you to target management positions. These are the positions that offer the fastest progression within a company. Of course, someone with a bachelor’s degree and several years’ experience in the company can also aspire to positions of responsibility. But with the inflation in the number of diplomas, the BAC+5 is increasingly becoming the minimum diploma required.

If you want to find a well-paid job in sport, you need to have not only the right qualifications, but also good professional experience. Internships, professional training contracts, apprenticeship contracts, VIE, civic service, setting up a business… When you’re a student, there are plenty of opportunities to work in sport. It’s vital to gain as much experience as possible in order to build up your CV and make sure it’s as full as possible. This will send out a positive signal to recruiters and make it easier to find a job.

There are several possible study strategies:

generalist training with specialisation in sport through professional experience. Generalist training can take the form of a Diploma from the Grande Ecole programme or a 4-year Bachelor’s degree with an international focus. A major in sport is possible but the teaching remains general. Students will specialise in the field of sport thanks to their work placement or work-study experience.
training that is 100% specialised in sport. This is very often the solution chosen by sports enthusiasts because it allows them to be completely immersed in this passionate world. At INSEC, we offer the MSc in Sports Marketing and Management, with an Outdoor specialisation available at the Chambéry Campus.
specialised training in a sector other than sport, combined with specialisation through professional experience. For example, if you’re going to be a sports trader, you’ll need to specialise in finance, such as an MSc in Financial Markets and Trading. The same applies to Human Resources, Community Management, e-business, etc. Students can choose to specialise in a certain type of skill before targeting the sports sector.

If you want to find a well-paid job in sport, you need to have not only the right qualifications, but also good professional experience. Internships, professional training contracts, apprenticeship contracts, VIE, civic service, setting up a business… When you’re a student, there are plenty of opportunities to work in sport. It’s vital to gain as much experience as possible in order to build up your CV and make sure it’s as full as possible. This will send out a positive signal to recruiters and make it easier to find a job.

Salaries

Which sports jobs pay the most?

The careers with the highest salaries in the sports sector are: top sportsman, sports trader, marketing director, sports journalist, sports equipment manager.

Here’s a more detailed description of these professions:

Professional athlete in a high-profile sport or e-sport:
Sports trader or sports betting specialist: with the advent of online betting sites and applications, the job of sports trader is all the rage! Skills in finance and statistics are essential, and must be correlated with an excellent knowledge of the sporting environment to which they are linked: new shareholders, rumours, team cohesion, potential new players, past results, etc.
Marketing or sponsorship director :
TV sports journalist: unsurprisingly, not all jobs in sports journalism are created equal. High-profile jobs such as TV presenter at major sporting events or on popular talk shows are better paid than print journalism.
Sports facilities manager: the larger the sports facility (particularly a football stadium), the greater the skills required in terms of human resources, events management, sponsorship and logistics, and the higher the remuneration.

Succeed

How do you succeed in sport?

Success in sport depends on a number of factors: having the right degree, sufficient relevant professional experience, a good network, determination, sociability and… the ability to seize opportunities!

How do you build a network in sport?

Having a network at the age of 20 is not always easy! But there are ways of building this network and getting it up and running before you finish your studies. These include

LinkedIn: a free and accessible tool, it’s the first networking tool you should start with! Check out the practical advice and tutorials from our coaching experts to get you started.
the School’s internal network: professional conferences with experts from the world of sport, afterwork, job dating, etc.
the professional network built up through work placements, civic service and sandwich courses. It’s sometimes difficult to decide whether to go on holiday with friends or do an unpaid internship for 2 months in the summer… You have to choose between the short term and the long term. All work experience is worthwhile, as it will bring new skills, a new line on your CV and a wider network. And who knows if the tutor on the 2-month placement might be able to put you in touch with the HR manager for your dream job?
The sports network: very often the desire to work in sport stems from a passion for a sport practised at club level. The management team, opposing clubs and team-mates were your 1st sporting network and will be potential professional partners in the future.

What qualities do you need for a career in sport?

The qualities needed for a good career in general, and in sport in particular, are: sociability, determination, organisational skills, leadership … and knowing how to seize the right opportunities when they arise!

The key qualities for success in sport :

have a mentality of steel and willpower.
be sociable. This quality goes hand in hand with the need to have a good network. Regularly taking part in events, exchanging cards, getting in touch with professionals, chatting… makes it easier to build your network.
knowing how to get organised.
be a leaderand know how to manage teams.
seizing opportunities at the right time.

Questions