If you’re interested in the world of sports and love working with a large group of people, you may want to venture into the field of sports management. Sports managers are extremely similar to sports agents but they work with an entire team of players as opposed to a single player.
What Is a Sports Manager?
Sports management is a unique field that offers many fantastic benefits in trade for highly specific skills. A sports manager needs to manage the reputation and often contracts of an entire team of players rather than a single player.
Often, the sports manager will need to deal directly with the players that have concerns and may even need to deal with additional sports agents who work with specific team members.
A sports manager needs to be deeply networked within the industry and able to read complex and comprehend complex legal contracts. For this reason, a sports manager is usually well-educated and extremely experienced within the industry.
Often, a sports manager will have either a Bachelor’s Degree or Master’s Degree. However, the field does accept experience as a replacement for education.
What Does a Sports Manager Do?
Sports managers will negotiate on their team’s behalf to get the best contracts. They will also need to take care of individual players and to deal with the agents of the individual players on a case by case basis.
A sports manager will need to manage any issues that come up between team members and will need to focus on the team’s overall success above anything else. This usually requires very good social skills and the ability to motivate.
While not a coach, the sports manager usually takes charge of the legal, financial and press responsibilities for the sports team. The manager may need to build an image for the team and may need to secure press coverage for the team as is necessary.
A sports manager will usually work in conjunction with agents, coaches and other related professionals to ensure that the team is both successful and popular.
How Do You Become a Sports Manager?
Many sports managers will begin their career as sports agents. Sports agents fulfill most of the responsibilities of a sports manager but dedicate themselves to a single client. However, sports managers aren’t necessarily above sports agents.
Highly prized sports agents may still make more money than a sports manager, which gives a sports manager a significant amount of leverage to move between the two positions.
Sports manager certifications are available through schools such as the United States Sports Academy. Obtaining one of these certifications can be an excellent way to get a foot in the door, but most sports managers will also be required to have at least a few years of experience within the industry. Ideally, a sports manager may have up to a decade of experience and success.
How Do You Advance as a Sports Manager?
As with other positions in the field of sports, a sports manager will usually advance through the acquisition of progressively greater teams. Sports managers that show they can deal with complex issues and contribute to their team’s success may be able to negotiate better contracts for themselves or may be able to move on to more prestigious organizations.
Sports managers that prove very successful can also become successful sports agents or move into other related fields. According to O*Net Online related fields include sports medicine, umpires, coaches and scouts. Talent scouting is a field that is very close to agent representation and sport management, as is the realm of public relations.