The 20 Best Jobs in Sports

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Assuming you're like the majority of people, you probably don't absolutely love your job.

Sure, the money's great, but walking into an office each day and talking to Phil from accounting about his kids everyday at lunch can probably be a little tiresome.

As diehard sports fans, we all talk about how we could do a better job than the coach or GM, so imagine what it'd be like to actually get paid to be in their position?

If you're looking for a new career path, we're giving you 20 sports jobs that you might want to consider going for.

Championship rings included as a benefit is pretty cool, too.

Sports Analyst

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Sure, there's a lot of people who crap on you for being a tool, but if you're making bank for doing it, does it really matter?

If you can ignore some of the hate thrown your way, you're talking about sports all day—which is about every guy's dream.

Bullpen Catcher

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While at dinner last week, our little sister's boyfriend (who played baseball in college) mentioned how he was thinking about becoming a bullpen catcher during the summer.

I laughed.

Then he told us the damn guy gets paid nearly $70K a year just to catch a ball and toss it back to the warming-up pitcher.

Honestly? We've all played catch since we were like five years old, so where do we sign up?

Pro Golfer

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These guys get to play golf for a living.

Pause. Let that sink in.

You work 40 hours at a desk, worrying about client requests and reports, only hoping to have enough time to get four hours on a course over the weekend.

While you're stressing about that crap, these guys are playing on some of the most prestigious courses ever constructed, all while "working on their craft."

Plus, you're just one Major win away from being a major millionaire.

Sports Information Director

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As long as you don't mind being unsettled for the first couple years of your career—not to mention not exactly making great cash and working long hours—then you might want to check out this job.

On top of handling media requests and getting the behind-the-scenes look at all of the university's sports' teams, your front-row seat to each game is a pretty cool perk.

Sports Agent

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You may have to work your way up the corporate ladder before getting the goods, but if you're willing to do it, why wouldn't you?

The only thing agents need to do is rep their clients, and when their clients happen to be multimillion-dollar pro athletes, it's a pretty easy sell.

When you add in the three percent commission, it's no wonder these guys protect their athletes.

Vendor

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You might not think carrying around a heavy cooler of beer is your way of working, but when you get to see pretty much every home game and make close to $40,000 a year, it can be worth it.

Plus, you get to skip the crowds at the gym since you're getting your workout at the ballgame, so that's an added bonus!

Scout

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Ever dream about finding the next Kobe or Tom Brady? Who hasn't?!

As a scout you not only get to scour the entire nation for the best talent, but you're traveling from city to city to do it.

Life on the road's never easy, but whether you lock-up that blue-chipper everyone's after or sign that under-the-radar guy who becomes an All-Star, it's definitely rewarding.

MLB Bench Coach

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Though it sucks to be called a bench warmer if you're an athlete, the fact that there's a job title for a coach that actually just sits around and helps motivate players and talk to the manager is pretty dope.

Literally, your job is to sit in a dugout bench to talk baseball, give advice and get paid.

Seems like that's the life right there.

Referee

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You're going to have to have thick skin—just ask the replacement zebras from the NFL—but if you enjoy being in the middle of the action at big-time sporting events, than you might want to give it a go.

As someone who can impact the game in such a major way, we'd advise going the Ed Hochuli route, and not so much the Tim Donaghy one.

But that's just our opinion.

NASCAR Driver

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If there's one thing mostly everyone likes, it's the need for speed.

So could you imagine being handed a car that can go as fast as 200 miles per hour and actually earning money for driving it?

Sure, it's scary and mega-dangerous, but let's face it—all you're doing is turning left for a couple hours, right?

Wide Receiver for Peyton Manning

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Every single guy that lines up to catch a ball from Peyton should be sporting “Check My Stats” shirts, as LeBron famously once wore, because with No. 18 throwing them the ball, their game goes to a completely different level.

Just see how productive guys like Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker were before Peyton signed with the Broncos. Yeah, not all that.

Now see what they did in 2012 with him—insane stuff.

The Greg Oden Plan

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Is it any wonder why Oden's smiling in this pic?

The former No. 1 pick has played a total of 82 games in his entire career—meaning he's played the equivalent of one full season since being drafted in 2007.

When you realize he's earned over $23 million for all that, it's pretty impressive stuff.

He's not in the league right now, but darn, it's not like he's hurting for cash!

Soccer Scoreboard Operator

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Though this score shows a 2-1 Madrid victory, it's not uncommon for soccer matches to have a combined total of even less than three goals.

When you're getting to watch a live match from a press box and clicking a button about five times total during 90 minutes? Who wouldn't want to do that?

For some, the pain of watching a soccer match might be too much, but it still beats your crappy cubicle.

12th Man in Basketball

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It might not be the best feeling to have 20,000 people chanting your name to get in because the regular starters have already blown the thing wide open, or cheer each time you even touch the ball, but it has to be pretty fun.

Case in point: Brian Scalabrine.

Third-String Quarterback

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Unless you're on the Cleveland Browns, most of the time the third-stringers don't even come close to sniffing the field.

Meaning you get to say you're part of the team, make a couple hundred thousand a season, and enjoy the perks of technically being in the NFL.

You may not get a ton of reps, but hell, that doesn't matter when you're getting that Super Bowl ring.

PGA Tour Caddy

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You may have failed at your lone chance of being a caddy when you worked at the local country club during middle school, but had you stuck with it and made it to the big time, you'd see it wasn't all scratch golfers and minimum wage.

Caddies on the pro tour are there to lend a helping hand to golfers, but we all know who swings the club.

Shooter McGavin may blame his caddy for a bad suggestion, but when a dude slices his ball off the tee, that's on the golfer, not the caddy.

MLB Closer

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If you're looking for why a closer makes our list, let us tell you the story of Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon.

Dude has pitched a total of roughly 500 innings in his entire career—including three starts. Guy takes over as the full-time closer for the Red Sox in '06, grabs some All-Star appearances, signs a fat deal with the Phillies.

Point is, he's made more than $40 million in his entire career so far, meaning he's earned more than $80,000 per inning.

Yes, that sounds pretty sweet to us.

Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach

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It's probably pretty difficult to name the last three head coaches of the Sacramento Kings, but the black and gold? That's fairly easy—Mike Tomlin, Bill Cowher and Chuck Noll.

That's stretched-out over a 40-year period, so job security is pretty strong, and the Rooney family are some of the best, first-class owners in sports.

Oh yeah, and those three guys have a combined six Super Bowl rings.

Starting Point Guard for John Calipari

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Okay, so college athletes might not get paid—we'd like to think—but trust us, if you're running the show for Coach Cal, you will more than likely be earning a big paycheck very soon.

See if these names ring a bell—Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, John Wall and Brandon Knight.

Those are the last four PG's the UK coach has sent to the Association, with each one being lottery picks selected no lower than No. 8.

Owner

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Though it's extremely unlikely unless you happen to fall into a boat-load of cash to even give you a chance to sniff owning a team, if you're lucky enough to have it happen, we're guessing you'll love your life.

Like anything else you own, you get an all-access pass to everything you want and make the calls on all the key moves.

Who needs fantasy sports when you can have it become a reality?