Which sport would you choose to be a pro in?

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

Suppose you had the talent to pick a sport and get good enough to make it to the top tier (so you get to the majors and aren't stuck in the minors), but are only middle of the pack so you don't get to be one of the super stars. Which sport would you pick?

I'd go with golf. No contact so you can have a long career and not have brain damage and busted joints. The median earnings are pretty good. Most of the courses are in nice places (no three game road trip to Cleveland). And the average golfer only plays about 25 events a year so you still get to be home most weeks.

Runners up for me are F1 driver and Premier League (or any top flight league in a good European country) footballer.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

MLB pitcher. It's always been my favorite thing to do.

 

[LordMcBuckethead]

Baseball. Because it is America's pastime and it seems pretty easy to make money as compared to the grind that is golf.
Now if you were to say, which would you like to the be the best of the best GOAT status, then it would still be baseball, with basketball a close second. Football is too hazardous and careers are too short.

 

[Dawgg]

Baseball. No salary cap, low contact, and you can just about play forever.

 

[PooPopsBaldHead]

The choice is clear.

 

[BoDawg.sixpack]

Competitive eating. Kobyashi has never gone up against a deep south buffet buster. And his record of eating 14 twinkies in one minute would get pwn3d.

 

[aTotal360]

MLB middle reliever.

 

[dorndawg]

NBA - the salaries are huge even if you're just league average good

 

[Drebin]

Suppose you had the talent to pick a sport and get good enough to make it to the top tier (so you get to the majors and aren't stuck in the minors), but are only middle of the pack so you don't get to be one of the super stars. Which sport would you pick?

I'd go with golf. No contact so you can have a long career and not have brain damage and busted joints. The median earnings are pretty good. Most of the courses are in nice places (no three game road trip to Cleveland). And the average golfer only plays about 25 events a year so you still get to be home most weeks.

Runners up for me are F1 driver and Premier League (or any top flight league in a good European country) footballer.

Baseball.

It's probably the hardest sport of all of them from the perspective of just making it to the highest level - and it's probably the hardest to play...it's just an absolute grind to play a 162 game schedule. But it's just a beautiful game and I think it's the most financially rewarding game if you can get there and stay there.

 

[johnson86-1]

Golf is the winner to me. Not only do you get your main career but the Senior PGA tour is a pretty sweet gig also.

However, I think your underselling the downside of the travel because you basically don't have home games and each "away game" is basically the full week (say Monday for travel, Tuesday Wednesday for pro-am and/or practice rounds, Thursday through Sunday for playing (you hope)). If you play 20 events (on the low end for a pga player), that means you're basically going to be on the road for 20 full weeks unless you live somewhere with a tournament. If you play 30 (which is on the higher side), you're on the road 30 full weeks. Even when you're staying nice places, it's still a grind to spend that much time continuously in either hotels or rented houses. And the more you try to break it up, the harder you make the travel logistics for yourself and the shorter your longest break becomes.

Contrast that to the NBA, where you have 41 games at home and 41 games on the road. You knock those out in stretches though, so just to simplify, say out of a 19 week season, you're on the road for 9.5 weeks a year plus pre season and playoffs.

For football, it's even better because you only have essentially 10 away games (counting preseason but not playoffs) but it's a weekend affair, not a full week of travel.

That said. Golf is still a clear winner to me. I can just understand players getting tired of being on the road, especially if they have kids.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

Baseball.

It's probably the hardest sport of all of them from the perspective of just making it to the highest level - and it's probably the hardest to play...it's just an absolute grind to play a 162 game schedule. But it's just a beautiful game and I think it's the most financially rewarding game if you can get there and stay there.

Of the big sports in the US baseball would be my top pick. The big knock would be the irregular travel schedule and the potential to be spending most of your time in a crappy city I'd rather not be in. I'm just not interested enough in the NBA but it looks like it's not a bad gig either.

 

[thekimmer]

Baseball. No salary cap, low contact, and you can just about play forever.

Also it is played in warm weather which frees you up for the major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year) and hunting in the off season. You can take your family with you if you want on the road in much of the summer months. You are unlikely to retire with chronic orthopedic/neurological issues, and after a game you don't require 8 hours of therapy over two days to recover. Salaries for even the middle of the pack are still pretty darn good too.

 

[57stratdawg]

Baseball. It’s the lowest impact on your body combined with the strongest labor union representation.

I could see the case for Golf as well, but I don’t think I’d like spending 24/7 in and around country clubs.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

Competitive eating. Kobyashi has never gone up against a deep south buffet buster. And his record of eating 14 twinkies in one minute would get pwn3d.

I think minor league baseball players earn more than the average competitive eater. But at least you get a lot of free food.

 

[SteelCurtain74]

I would go baseball first but beach volleyball wouldn't be that far behind. Dress code is pretty minimal, tan all year long and plenty of eye candy also in minimal attire to look at.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Considering my only intramural championship was in sports trivia, this is my answer...

Click Here.

 

[johnson86-1]

NBA - the salaries are huge even if you're just league average good

The median NBA salary is north of $4.3M now. The 63rd highest earning PGA player in 2022 was Matt Kuchar, with $2.05M (the top 125 keep their card, so I'm calling 63rd the median). And the golfer has expenses to pay between travel, caddy, so the NBA is even better than it looks from that perspective.

That said, the average NBA career is I think 4.5 years. Not sure what the average PGA player usually does, but obviously physically you can compete for much longer in golf. Plus you have the option to make money on the senior tour. So I'm taking my $2M in golf (even knowing I'll have some pretty significant expenses) and hoping I make it up by playing 9 years instead of 4.5 and then also having the senior tour to keep me busy later on.

 

[GloryDawg]

I would be an NFL Defensive End or Linebacker.

 

[Darryl Steight]

The choice is clear.

 

[HotMop]

Azerbaijan Shovel Fighter.

 

[kired]

MLB relief pitcher would probably be my dream.

For a solid career if actual playing time wasn't a big deal - NFL long snapper would be interesting. I assume NFL doesn't travel as much as other sports. Not as hard on your body as other positions, no one is going to remember your name if you screw up, and you can hold onto a job for a long time by just being average.

 

[11thEagleFan]

Since the question is “if you could be an average player,” then I would go with baseball. The average MLB salary for 2023 is $4.9 million annually. I would love to play first base (my high school position) for 6-8 years and then retire with my health intact.

Also cleat chasers in 30 cities.

 

[mcdawg22]

Suppose you had the talent to pick a sport and get good enough to make it to the top tier (so you get to the majors and aren't stuck in the minors), but are only middle of the pack so you don't get to be one of the super stars. Which sport would you pick?

I'd go with golf. No contact so you can have a long career and not have brain damage and busted joints. The median earnings are pretty good. Most of the courses are in nice places (no three game road trip to Cleveland). And the average golfer only plays about 25 events a year so you still get to be home most weeks.

Runners up for me are F1 driver and Premier League (or any top flight league in a good European country) footballer.

Golf. I’d be like Bruce Lietzke. Play enough to earn a good living then take the rest of the year off to be with my family and fish.

 

[BoDawg.sixpack]

I think minor league baseball players earn more than the average competitive eater. But at least you get a lot of free food.

And you could practice indoors in a recliner.

 

[ClintonInHelen]

Hitting…

 

[pmack3641]

Football it was always my favorite. Use to be extremely fast (please note ”use to be”) so wide receiver . Baseball would be second.

 

[DerHntr]

Golf for everyone else’s stated reasons, plus it’s the only sport that makes a large sum of money for middle-of-the-pack players while also being an individual sport. Golfers don’t have to listen to fans wanting you fired, traded, to retire, to die in a fire for missing a shot, etc. You can live where you want as long as a decent sized airport is nearby. Play your game the way you see fit. Keep your sponsors happy. Be personable with the fans. Treat your caddy well. Enjoy living half a year at some of the most pristine golf courses on earth. Play golf in other parts of the world when you feel like it. Play when you’re old and people think you’re the lovable senior tour grandpa while still making a great living.

There is a reason that many of the other professional sports players also play golf. I guarantee you they’d love to be good enough to play the senior tour after retiring from something else. Being a badass at a lifestyle sport that’s low impact on your body would be incredible.

ETA: plenty of time to hunt the rut since it’s cold and there isn’t a lot of golf to be had at that time

 

[HammerOfTheDogs]

Suppose you had the talent to pick a sport and get good enough to make it to the top tier (so you get to the majors and aren't stuck in the minors), but are only middle of the pack so you don't get to be one of the super stars. Which sport would you pick?

I'd go with golf. No contact so you can have a long career and not have brain damage and busted joints. The median earnings are pretty good. Most of the courses are in nice places (no three game road trip to Cleveland). And the average golfer only plays about 25 events a year so you still get to be home most weeks.

Runners up for me are F1 driver and Premier League (or any top flight league in a good European country) footballer.

Backup quarterback. Don't get hit, get paid $10-15 million a year, have a long career.

 

[sandwolf.sixpack]

Golf is a no brainer, and I don't even play golf.

 

[johnson86-1]

Since the question is “if you could be an average player,” then I would go with baseball. The average MLB salary for 2023 is $4.9 million annually. I would love to play first base (my high school position) for 6-8 years and then retire with my health intact.

Also cleat chasers in 30 cities.

I recognize this is ridiculously nit picky for what is just a fantastical hypothetical, but I you probably need the median salary. Pretty much every sports league has superstars that take home a "disproportionate" share of the compensation, so the average player is going to earn a decent amount below the average salary. This is probably even more pronounced in baseball compared to basketball or football, which have salary cap rules that do more to limit the pay of the superstars than the MLB does.

 

[mcdawg22]

Golf for everyone else’s stated reasons, plus it’s the only sport that makes a large sum of money for middle-of-the-pack players while also being an individual sport. Golfers don’t have to listen to fans wanting you fired, traded, to retire, to die in a fire for missing a shot, etc. You can live where you want as long as a decent sized airport is nearby. Play your game the way you see fit. Keep your sponsors happy. Be personable with the fans. Treat your caddy well. Enjoy living half a year at some of the most pristine golf courses on earth. Play golf in other parts of the world when you feel like it. Play when you’re old and people think you’re the lovable senior tour grandpa while still making a great living.

There is a reason that many of the other professional sports players also play golf. I guarantee you they’d love to be good enough to play the senior tour after retiring from something else. Being a badass at a lifestyle sport that’s low impact on your body would be incredible.

ETA: plenty of time to hunt the rut since it’s cold and there isn’t a lot of golf to be had at that time

Yeah living location may be one of the biggest reasons for me. If I got traded to the Twins there is no way in hell my wife would live in Minnesota, even if the majority of time would be during the summer. So even though the PGA would have additional travel expenses. MLB would have additional living expenses because I would have a second residence in the city I played. Even if I didn’t and played for say the Padres. I could get a beach house here for what a 3BR 3BA decent house would cost in SD.

 

[DerHntr]

Yeah living location may be one of the biggest reasons for me. If I got traded to the Twins there is no way in hell my wife would live in Minnesota, even if the majority of time would be during the summer. So even though the PGA would have additional travel expenses. MLB would have additional living expenses because I would have a second residence in the city I played. Even if I didn’t and played for say the Padres. I could get a beach house here for what a 3BR 3BA decent house would cost in SD.

Having the peace of mind that you can settle down where you want and the team can’t trade you away is worth a lot of money.

 

[MSUDC11-2.0]

I would want to be an NFL punter. Punter over kicker because I feel like kicking comes with more pressure. You pretty much get left alone at practice, your job is very straight forward, it’s not as physical as other positions, and if you’re good at it you can hang around for 15 or so years.

You’ll never make mega star money but our guy Logan Cooke is making $3 million a year. Almost every starting punter in the league is making over $1 million this season. For basically six months of work.

 

[bolddogge]

F1 driver. All day. Every day. Get to drive the most awesome driving machines on the planet as fast as possible with no risk of getting pulled over. Sign. Me. Up.

 

[CochiseCowbell]

Baseball. Simply for the love of the game...and mostly due to the fact that I played that the longest, know it better, and my relative skill sets are all in that sport.

 

[MagnoliaHunter]

Suppose you had the talent to pick a sport and get good enough to make it to the top tier (so you get to the majors and aren't stuck in the minors), but are only middle of the pack so you don't get to be one of the super stars. Which sport would you pick?

I'd go with golf. No contact so you can have a long career and not have brain damage and busted joints. The median earnings are pretty good. Most of the courses are in nice places (no three game road trip to Cleveland). And the average golfer only plays about 25 events a year so you still get to be home most weeks.

Runners up for me are F1 driver and Premier League (or any top flight league in a good European country) footballer.

My favorite sport always has been and always will be baseball. But in Formula 1, Max Verstappen will make 60 million this year at 25 years old and will probably get a large increase for next year . Plus there are only 23 F1 races per year.

Edited to reword.

 

[BingleCocktail]

Suppose you had the talent to pick a sport and get good enough to make it to the top tier (so you get to the majors and aren't stuck in the minors), but are only middle of the pack so you don't get to be one of the super stars. Which sport would you pick?

I'd go with golf. No contact so you can have a long career and not have brain damage and busted joints. The median earnings are pretty good. Most of the courses are in nice places (no three game road trip to Cleveland). And the average golfer only plays about 25 events a year so you still get to be home most weeks.

Runners up for me are F1 driver and Premier League (or any top flight league in a good European country) footballer.

IF I WANTED MY KID TO MAKE $$$ ID GIVE THEM A G0LF CLUB OR TENNIS RACKET. THERE IS NO OTHER CHOICES

 

[AstroDog]

Suppose you had the talent to pick a sport and get good enough to make it to the top tier (so you get to the majors and aren't stuck in the minors), but are only middle of the pack so you don't get to be one of the super stars. Which sport would you pick?

I'd go with golf. No contact so you can have a long career and not have brain damage and busted joints. The median earnings are pretty good. Most of the courses are in nice places (no three game road trip to Cleveland). And the average golfer only plays about 25 events a year so you still get to be home most weeks.

Runners up for me are F1 driver and Premier League (or any top flight league in a good European country) footballer.

Golf without a doubt. Just love the game. Then, it would be something in MLB.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

Professional Bass Fishing.

 

[cowbell88]

Professional Bass Fishing.

I’ve always enjoyed watching the stadium weigh ins. You know what you have in livewell and no one else does. Getting the crowd all worked up for a 6 pounder when you know you have a 9.9 yet to go, is got to be the ultimate thrill.