Everyone knows that professional athletes make a lot of money. Just how much, though? That’s exactly what I wanted to know when I started my research. The problem was that there were several sites that reported different numbers so I decided to average all of them together. This is your one-stop location if you wanted to know the average salary for pro athletes in any sport!
The average salary for professional athletes is $2.1 million per year, according to a 2018 report from Statista. That’s about $100,000 per month, or $4,167 per day—which is nearly as much as the median income in America.
Average salary for pro athletes
The average salary for baseball’s top players is $3.2 million, and that number climbs to over $5 million for players in the National Football League (NFL). Basketball players bring in close to $5 million on average, while elite hockey stars command an average salary of around $4 million.
As you can see above, the average salary of a professional athlete varies widely depending on your sport. Some athletes earn modest fortunes, while others make millions of dollars per year. On average, professional basketball players make the most money, followed closely by NFL players, with MLB professional baseball players bringing home the least amount of income.
If you have a passion for sports and want to join the ranks of your favorite team, then you could be on your way to earning a comfortable yet not excessive salary.
The average professional athlete makes millions of dollars each year, putting them high up on the annual salary list.
Pro athletes will tell you that playing sports is only part of their job—the rest of it takes place away from the stadium or court. That means once they finish a game, they need to worry about practicing all week, staying in shape, keeping up with studies or other jobs, and so on. In the end, becoming a professional athlete is no easy task and requires a lot of work—something that’s often easier said than done. You might want to start out as an amateur or semi-pro player and see how you like it before moving on to the big leagues.
Not surprisingly, a majority of professional athletes earn the majority of their income from salaries, bonuses, and prize money. The remaining balance comes from investments and sponsorships that pay substantial amounts — especially among those athletes who are very successful. For example, in 2010 Serena Williams earned more in endorsements ($16 million) than all but two male tennis players. As more companies take notice of how effective marketing strategies can be with these high-profile athletes one can expect to see the income gap between themselves and their team-mates widen as they play out their contracts.
