Coolest Jobs in Sports Today
No matter the job—whether it's covering, playing or managing—most people would love to work in sports.
Of course, there's also no denying some sports gigs are clearly better than others.
If, for example, you were asked to either coach the Cleveland Cavaliers or clean up after them, you'd almost certainly choose the former.
And just about every sports fan out there would kill (figuratively speaking) to manage the Yankees or sit at the end of Gregg Popovich's bench.
Or what if someone told you taking over for Tony Kornheiser on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption was not a dream but rather a reality? Would you not jump sky high for the opportunity?
With that said, and these ideal scenarios and others in mind, we've wracked our brains and scoured our imaginations to come up with the 10 Coolest Jobs in Sports Today.
So while the positions we've chosen come in various shapes and sizes, they all have one distinct thing in common: Sports fans everywhere would do almost anything to have them.
Close, but No Cigar
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Though we only highlighted our favorite 10 sports jobs, there are plenty of others deserving of attention. As a result, we've listed some other relevant and notable dream jobs below:
- Dallas Cowboys Starting QB
- PA Announcer at AT&T Park
- Groundskeeper at Augusta National Golf Club
- Head Umpire at Wimbledon
- NFL Commissioner
- Veteran NFL Kicker
New York Yankees General Manager
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We kick off our Top Job Tour with one of the more obvious spots on our list: The best job baseball.
In truth, serving as a general manager in any professional sport would be a dream come true, but filling that role in baseball, and for the Yankees no less, would be the absolute best.
For starters, few franchises—regardless of sport—possess the prestige and cache the Yankees can boast. The opportunity to represent such a thing, and to add to it as well, would be worthy of goose bumps.
Of course, one could argue the exact same thing about similar positions with the Lakers and Celtics in the NBA or with the Cowboys in the NFL.
But what pushes the Yanks over the top and past everyone else are their limitless funds in a sport devoid of fiscal guidelines.
Thanks to baseball’s lack of a salary cap, Yankees GM Brian Cashman can spend whatever he wants on whomever he wants. For Cashman and the Yanks, no free agent is too attractive or too expensive.
In fact, it's one of baseball's sad—but if it's you, awesome—truths: As GM of the Yankees, the baseball world is your oyster, and with all the money and any star you see fit, you can eat from it as you so choose.
Jason Dufner's Job
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This one—the life of the good, but not great golfer—is rather simple.
Jason Dufner, for example, has it great. He doesn't have to bust his ass staying in shape, is married to an undeniably beautiful woman (which isn't necessarily a byproduct of his job, but also kind of is) and plays the world's most relaxing sport (assuming you're "Dufner good"), all for a couple million dollars a year.
Even better yet, the guy—currently ranked 36th in the world—also already has a PGA Championship under his belt, which gives him at least the option to go full "coast mode" for pretty much the remainder of his career.
In other words, he's perfectly average—good enough to have fame and fortune, but also average enough to avoid life-altering pressure and annoyingly lofty expectations.
So, quickly, let's review: Dufner rarely—if ever—works out, has an insanely gorgeous wife, and makes millions per year playing an outdoor sport that most people, in their time off, will do just about anything to play.
Sounds like a pretty good job to us.
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Cavs Head Coach
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Out of the 30 NBA head coaching gigs, the one is Cleveland is clearly today's best.
For one, working with an all-time great like LeBron James would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Plenty have dreamed about coaching Hall of Famers such as Michael Jordan or Larry Bird, and standing side by side with LeBron on a nightly basis would be no different.
Of course, we'd be remiss if we didn't also mention guys like Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, two stars with whom LeBron currently shares the court.
Working with an ultra-talented nucleus is what every coach hopes for, but Cleveland's current threesome is a somewhat confused one still figuring things out, which actually makes the job there all the more enticing—that which is earned is always better than anything for free.
Now we admit living in Cleveland would be no easy task—and it makes coaching the young and exciting Warriors, for example, an interesting backup plan—but the short-term opportunity to bring vast "riches" to a "starving" city would more than justify living in the cold.
With that said, then, bring on the Cavs, baby!
Alabama Head Football Coach
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Over the last four recruiting cycles, the University of Alabama has finished with America's top class...you guessed it...four times (according to Rivals.com).
Even with natural recruiting misses built in, there is an absurd—and largely unrivaled—amount of talent roaming the sidelines in Tuscaloosa.
As a result, coaching the Tide today would be like inheriting an NFL franchise that's been granted 10 first-round picks in each of the last five college drafts. Or, in other words, really fun for you and totally unfair for everyone else.
With that kind of talent, just imagine the plays you could doodle in your notebook...
It's true, of course, that coaching in Tuscaloosa comes with immense pressure. But, assuming you win, isn't it also nice to have the expectations, and respect, that success breeds? And what winner plans on losing?
Put it this way: If you're going to race cars for a living, it sure would be nice to get all the fast ones...plus seven mil a year.
PTI Host
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Most guys would love to work in sports no matter the capacity, but hosting ESPN's Pardon the Interruption is almost certainly as good as it gets.
The discussion/argument-oriented structure of the show provides Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon with tremendous creative freedom, not to mention a desirably loose environment in which to work.
And don't get us started on PTI's too-good-to-be-true work hours—the show runs Monday-Friday, from 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Even if you are forced to arrive early and prep for, let's say, two hours—which, by the way, is a more than conservative hypothetical—you're still getting national exposure and paid the big bucks to work for roughly three hours a day.
And did we mention that "work" includes nothing but arguing about sports?
Collin Cowherd's
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If you've never had the amazing opportunity to work in sports talk radio, trust us, it's awesome.
Of all the mediums out there, radio is by far the freest. Sure, ratings still matter and advertisers no doubt present demands. Beyond that, though, each segment is really just 15 minutes of fun, "like we're in a bar" sports talk.
And while we already touted PTI's work hours in a previous slide, Colin Cowherd of ESPN Radio has it even better. Forget morning or rush-hour traffic; Cowherd does radio from 10:00-1:00, five days a week.
He can sleep in, get home early and stay up late...all in the same day.
Now, it's worth mentioning, working on-air, solo for three hours straight is a daunting task to say the least. But once you've gotten loose and adapted to the structure of it all, having a platform to share your voice, without interruption, would be about as beautiful as, well, this.
San Antonio's 11th Man
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If we're being entirely honest—and we have no reason to be anything other than just that—serving as the 11th man on an NBA championship team is arguably the best job in sports.
At the moment, that team is the Spurs, and living in sunny San Antonio—oh, by the way—doesn't sound too shabby either.
Of course, getting to play basketball for a living in general would be truly amazing. We shouldn't, however, underestimate the work put in and the pressure felt by the game's top players. As a result, the role of superstar—which is accompanied by the need to push your body to the limit and to always be hungrier than the "other guy"—is one that's actually hard for us to envy.
On the other hand, if someone asked you to play winning ball for millions, and to do so without all the pressure, the grueling personal workouts or physical wear and tear, would you really ask for more?
Sitting on the San Antonio bench would be like landing a respectable role in a critically acclaimed, major motion picture without ever having to recite a line.
In short, getting dirty from time to time would no doubt be fun, but watching from the bench, staying clean and collecting paychecks sounds a whole lot better.
And without a meaningful role on the second night of back-to-backs, so too would the post-game parties.
Top Sports Agent
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We will keep this one short.
First of all, in the history of sports, there's never been a better time to be a high-end sports agent.
With athlete exposure, salaries and endorsements growing by the year, and more college hopefuls turning pro than ever before, opportunities for industry "sharks" have never been so abundant.
And forget lucrative, what on earth sounds like more fun than playing the sports version of this guy (language NSFW)?
We should also note, if specializing is a must, we'd choose the NFL.
Take, for example, Drew Rosenhaus.
The guy is 48 years old, worth an estimated $65 million, has appeared on TV and in movies and can get into most NFL parties any time he wants.
Need we really say more?
Broncos Play-by-Play Announcer
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Having Broncos season tickets—and thus being on hand weekly to watch one of the greatest quarterbacks ever lead one of the NFL's best and most exciting teams—seems awesome enough.
But—to take it about 10 steps further—getting to serve as the voice of Denver's team, and to narrate each of its games, would be as exciting and euphoric as any media job out there.
And let's be honest: Calling the action for any NFL team would get the blood flowing.
Yet to live in Denver—which most consider to be one of America's most impressive cities—and get to provide the sound for Peyton Manning's Super Bowl contender would be extraordinary on a whole other level.
And, oh yeah, did we mention all the skiing and beer, or how much of both you'd get for free?
Brady's Backup
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The life of a backup quarterback is about as good as it gets.
Here's all you really need to know: He can become a major city's most popular man without ever taking so much as a single snap.
And if avoiding snaps—and all the stress and pressure that comes along with quarterbacking in front of millions of people—is the goal, well then New England's the place to be. That's because in the last six seasons, starter Tom Brady hasn't missed a single game.
For Brady, that's an awful lot of work without any time off. For his backup, though, it's been one long paid vacation.
Not to mention Brady's job—or the job of any NFL starting QB, for that matter—is arguably the hardest in all of sports.
Watching him from the sideline, however, is a whole lot easier.
Now consider that fact, the whole popularity thing and the millions you're almost guaranteed to make as a backup, and then give me one good reason why sitting behind Brady wouldn't be better than just about anything ever.
The fans would love you, ask nothing of you and your pockets would be full of cash nonetheless.
Seriously, what more could a man want (other than Gisele)?
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