How Much Can You Earn in Sports Analytics? - Salaries and Top Employers.

How much a sports analyst make?

According to data from Glassdoor, the US average salary for jobs in sports analytics is in the range 64k-100k however, this number can vary based on a variety of factors such as location, level of education, and experience.  Also, this is for Data Analyst roles. More technical positions, with more focus on Machine Learning, AI and data science usually have higher salaries.  

In my experience, top consultancy firms and high positions in renamed teams will exceed that range.

Top 5 sports analytics places to work

* Zelus Analytics * Swish Analytics * NBA Teams * ESPN * The Athletic

During the end of 2023, roles at those companies were at least paying U$S 130 000.

As mentioned above, those salaries where for roles with high technical knowledge including machine learning, data science, statistics and AI for sports analytics. Not only knowing them but being able to work with them and different data sources and formats.  

Sports analytics trend with AI

The nice thing is that as AI and Analytics get more traction in multiple areas, the need for analytics in sports will grow and hence the salaries too. Right now there isn't massive adoption of Analytics in the sports industry. It's a long term path, many teams have difficulties to change their strategies and ways of working, rightfully, since they have been using them for decades. Embracing technology, data and relying less on intuition and rules of thumb is not a straightforward change and it need to mature.   It's happening and it will keep going on, you should be ready to ride the wave.

To grab those juicy salaries you need to sharpen your skills and keep updated with news on the industry, but it's totally worth it if you really want a job in sports analytics.