Athletes and Sports Competitors

Minimal Risk
12%

Where Would You Like to Go Next?

Share your results with friends and family.

Or, Explore This Profession in Greater Detail...

AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
16%
(Minimal Risk)
POLLING
8.7%
(Minimal Risk, Based on 1,452 votes)
Average: 12%
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
11.1%
by year 2033
WAGES
$70,280
or $33.79 per hour
Volume
14,930
as of 2023
SUMMARY
What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
7.8/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

People also viewed

Lawyers Actors Computer Programmers Commercial Pilots Web Developers

Calculated automation risk

16% (Minimal Risk)

Minimal Risk (0-20%): Occupations in this category have a low probability of being automated, as they typically demand complex problem-solving, creativity, strong interpersonal skills, and a high degree of manual dexterity. These jobs often involve intricate hand movements and precise coordination, making it difficult for machines to replicate the required tasks.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Manual Dexterity

  • Social Perceptiveness

  • Persuasion

User poll

8.7% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted there's a minimal chance this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 16% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Athletes and Sports Competitors will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Sentiment

The following graph is shown where there are enough votes to produce meaningful data. It displays user poll results over time, providing a clear indication of sentiment trends.

Sentiment over time (yearly)

Growth

Very fast growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Athletes and Sports Competitors' job openings is expected to rise 11.1% by 2033

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Wages

High paid relative to other professions

In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Athletes and Sports Competitors' was $70,280, or $34 per hour

'Athletes and Sports Competitors' were paid 46.2% higher than the national median wage, which stood at $48,060

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Lower range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2023 there were 14,930 people employed as 'Athletes and Sports Competitors' within the United States.

This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 10 thousand people are employed as 'Athletes and Sports Competitors'.

Job description

Compete in athletic events.

SOC Code: 27-2021.00

Comments (95)

Leave a comment
James (No chance)
04 Jul 2024 23:21
If the world comes to a point where AI replaces sports, there will be no fun or adrenaline-rushing plays made in sports.

An AI cannot choose between passing and running when it doesn’t know anything about the defenders. An AI cannot choose which teammate to pass to in a game of hockey. An AI cannot make a game of baseball interesting. This is because AI cannot and never will have the ability to make mistakes or learn about another team outside of the game.

The only job AI can ever have in sports is keeping track of the scoreboard or selling food and drink at a concession stand.
Heeheh (No chance)
01 Jul 2024 18:36
That takes the fun out of it
SanMasterpro (Low)
15 Jul 2020 20:27
Messi can't be replaced by ANY robot >:V
Thundr
01 Jul 2024 20:24
Yes but Ronaldo can.
clanka (No chance)
07 Oct 2025 13:46
We watch athletes to see the best HUMANS, how far we could possibly go. not how far an ai could go
AA (Low)
14 May 2025 23:32
Because you cannot play sports with robots! The tension is not there!
robaron
07 Apr 2025 10:34
Robots didn’t replace grandmaster chess players when deep blue beat Kasparov because that’s not what sports is about. Jobs are not safe from AI, but passions are.
jackson skeens
25 Apr 2025 17:44
what the nerd 🤓
Anom (No chance)
05 Jul 2024 18:48
Who will wanna watch sports if robots play? How is it still enjoyable?
lou (No chance)
04 Feb 2026 20:09
People watch sports for entertainment since they're impressive, and it's not very impressive if you just make a machine do it for you is it now?
lara (No chance)
21 Mar 2021 05:34
why would we want to watch robots play our favorite sports and represent our countries.. also, all the robots would have the same abilities so no one would win!
Nate H (Low)
04 Dec 2020 18:08
Small chance because AI can't really be compared to a human and their athletic ability. AI in a few years might be seen as some people but I don't think that they would be able to play sports.
BibirMengkeroet
13 Sep 2022 12:13
It's more than possible to create a machine that outperforms human power. In fact, we already have that. It's called cars.

However, as you've said, AI in a human-like body would still look fake because of the uncanny valley. There are already separate competitions for robot athletes, and these were held years ago.
Eduardo (No chance)
04 Dec 2024 23:22
Robots can't run and do performances, and they need to have an 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, but robots have the same sprint.
Rene Michael Rodriguez (No chance)
02 Jul 2024 13:43
There is no chance because they would do everything perfect and everyone would super board
Sigma (Low)
02 Jul 2024 00:14
Cannot replicate the same results as humans and will be too boring
Kush
11 Jun 2024 08:09
Humans have feelings, but robots cannot feel anything. Humans made AI by themselves, given their IQ level. Humans created many languages, and yes, robots will learn all the languages. They can also create other languages which we may never understand. However, we can create something that AI cannot understand.

Do you understand, Miss/Mr. Robot or AI? 😎
Shing Tung (No chance)
11 Dec 2023 22:13
Not only would it be quite foolish but I believe it would be quite boring to watch a machine perform athletic things.
Rocky Balboa (No chance)
11 Jun 2023 02:13
Nobody would watch a robot play football against other robots, or any other sport for that matter. Sports are created with the goal of testing human athleticism, and there's zero reason highly complicated robots would be replacing athletes in leagues created for entertainment.
Aaron (No chance)
15 Nov 2022 18:28
if sports are automated they will be come very boring
Qarlz (Low)
05 Oct 2022 08:42
Traumatic brain injuries and the liability of insuring human players.
Talan Castro
08 Sep 2022 15:57
Dude imagine the hitting or tackling and falling if a robot took place in sports! The bots would get messed up! It’s so not possible! I want to play in the NHL and I don’t want to be replaced by a robot! That’s BS!
Francesco (No chance)
17 Apr 2021 10:00
The sole purpose it exists it to extend the human body's limits. No point in replacing it with robots
Maria
09 Mar 2023 04:27
I agree with your statement one hundred percent.

Leave a reply about this occupation
0/8000