The six, seven, and even eight-figure salaries earned by players and coaches at the highest levels reveal the most lucrative aspects of sports. The exploits of these individuals, their teams, and the officials that call games often grab the interests and emotions of fans.
To a lesser degree than most coaches and athletes, sports fans can also earn some extra money. Below are five avenues to convert your interest in sports into a source of income.
Take the Field, Court, or Rink as a Coach or Official
High schools, youth, and recreational leagues hire coaches, umpires, and referees. In particular, jobs officiating youth or high school sports afford many opportunities for extra money. Many sports officials work part-time. Games often take place on evenings and weekends, accommodating those who already hold full-time jobs. If you teach, coaching or umpiring baseball or softball can supply some extra money during summer vacation. Online job sites, recreation departments, and booster clubs often list open positions for coaches, umpires, or referees.
Bet on Winners and Scores
Since legalizing sports betting nationwide in 2018, the industry has earned over $4.5 billion in revenue. Further, pregame shows and sports media outlets publish odds and point spreads to inform expert, novice, and even beginning gamblers. You can also get tips from sites like Sports Tips.
There are many different ways and strategies you can use to place bets. In point-spread betting, you wager on a favorite winning by more than a particular margin or on an underdog not losing by more than some margin. Sportsbooks and sites also allow you to bet on who will win among a field of team or players or whether the total score will exceed or not reach some total (over-under). Typically, it takes a winning percentage of 52.4 percent to turn a profit on sports betting.
Join Fantasy Leagues
Related somewhat to sports betting is the concept of fantasy sports. Players join leagues and draft players for their particular teams. The fantasy platforms afford you a budget, or “salary cap” and the asking price for the players. Winnings depend on how the particular players perform. For instance, you can win based upon the number of yards and touchdowns your running backs or quarterbacks amass in a game or season. As with sports bettors, fantasy players may look for sports tips to learn the strengths and weaknesses of particular players.
Sell Pieces of Sports History
Trading cards, autographed jerseys and balls, and other memorabilia have long provided extra money for sports enthusiasts and collectors. The value of these items often lies in the significance of a particular moment. For instance, the baseball hit by Hank Aaron as his last home run sold for $650,000 in 1996. The star power of the player also has an impact on how much you can sell something for.
Making extra money from sports memorabilia does not necessarily require you to invest at high levels. Trading cards and other items can be located on e-commerce sites or at sports memorabilia stores. These places can also examine baseballs or tickets you have collected from memorable championship games or other events.
Talk About Sports
Blogging or running a podcast gives sports fans a platform to sound off on their favorites teams, players, rivals and hot topics. However, making money from blogging may require focusing on subjects not covered by the general or national sports media
Your blog might focus more on a niche sport, on a high school, or on other local teams or conferences. To monetize the blog, you may solicit subscribers or businesses connected with the community or sport to place advertisements on your blog. A successful and profitable blog starts with building interest. Your social media connections can provide initial readers of your thoughts.
Fans and enthusiasts of sports of many kinds and at many levels can find opportunities for extra money. Your prospects turn on what way you try to earn, your knowledge of the particular sports, time, and tolerance for risk of uncertain outcomes.
