Key takeaways
- Pro sports intern hiring is on the rise. Professional sports employers posted about three times as many internships on Handshake in 2023 as in 2020.
- Students have their pick of positions in pro sports. Teams and governing bodies are hiring interns and new grads with skills in media and marketing, tech, finance, retail, and more.
- Sports employers across the country are seeking early talent. Top cities for pro sports jobs and internships in 2023 included Minneapolis, Boston, and Los Angeles.
- Student interest in sports-related roles is high and climbing. Searches on Handshake for roles in sports management, marketing, media, and analytics increased significantly between 2022 and 2023.
- Early talent is set to even the gender score in sports careers. Women made up close to half of all applicants to jobs and internships with professional sports employers on Handshake in 2023, compared to about a third in 2021.
- For student athletes, sports participation can double as career preparation. Many employers seek out student athletes when recruiting for positions that require competitive drive—in 2023, almost 9% of employer job campaigns for sales roles specifically targeted student athletes.
Pro sports intern hiring is on the rise
Although full-time hiring dropped slightly in 2023, in line with overall job trends, there are still plenty of pathways available for students and new grads looking to break into a sports career. Professional sports employers—including both pro sports teams and governing bodies such as the NFL and NBA—have been steadily increasing their intern hiring on Handshake over the past few years, and posted about three times as many internships in 2023 as in 2020.
The Green Bay Packers were among the top pro sports employers posting internships on Handshake in 2023. Internship hiring has increased by about 25% over the past five years as their business operations have expanded, according to the organization. Interns and recent graduates are seen as key assets, with almost every department relying on their work throughout the season and offseason.
For the Boston Red Sox, internships are essential to building a strong full-time talent pipeline. “Our internship program is one of the building blocks of our hiring efforts,” says Katie Kelly, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist for the Red Sox. “The internship gives students an idea of what working in sports is like full-time and gives them the opportunity to interact and network with all of our front office senior leadership. We hope students take their experience and use it to move into a full-time role with us here at the Red Sox or with another organization in the sports industry. We have increased our hiring efforts across schools and majors as we believe this will bring us a diverse and high quality class of interns each and every year.”
Students have their pick of positions in pro sports
Not everyone who wants a career in sports can be an elite athlete. Fortunately, they don’t have to be. Professional sports employers are seeking early-career hires with a variety of different skill sets, ranging from media and marketing to tech, finance, retail, and more. Within these broad categories, frequently-posted job roles include public relations specialists, market research analysts, accountants and auditors, graphic designers, and data analysts.
Pro sports employers are seeking early talent across the country
There are opportunities for early talent in almost any city with a professional sports presence, with top cities for jobs and internships in 2023 including Minneapolis, Boston, and Los Angeles. Teams in the Northwest, Midwest, and Florida—including the Seattle Mariners, Green Bay Packers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers—have also posted multiple roles on Handshake over the past year. Many of these teams source candidates from across the country; the Packers, for example, shared that about 70% of their interns come from outside the Green Bay area.
Student interest in sports-related roles is high and climbing
Searches on Handshake for roles in sports management, marketing, media, and analytics increased significantly between 2022 and 2023. There’s also been an uptick in the number of students majoring in sports management and marketing, with more than 30,000 students on Handshake set to earn undergraduate degrees in this field in 2024.
Early talent is set to even the gender score in sports careers
Sports media and management have long been male-dominated fields, but Handshake data suggests the next generation is poised to change that. Women made up close to half of all applicants to jobs and internships with professional sports teams on Handshake in 2023, compared to about a third in 2021. And women accounted for the majority of applicants to some job roles, including PR specialists, graphic designers, and marketing managers.
For student athletes, sports participation can double as career preparation
In addition to opportunities within the sports industry, sports-loving students can often pivot their athletic skill sets into other sectors. About a quarter of student athletes major in business, according to the NCAA, and many employers seek out student athletes when recruiting for roles in business analysis, leadership, and sales. Research from Harvard Business School suggests that the persistence, teamwork, and competitiveness required for collegiate athletics also serve graduates well in these types of positions.
Handshake job campaign data also supports the idea that employers are eager to recruit student athletes for business roles. In 2023, almost 9% of employer job campaigns for sales roles and over 4% of campaigns for business analyst roles targeted student athletes, compared to a little over 2% of job campaigns overall.
AlphaSights, a leading information services company, was among the top employers seeking student athletes on Handshake in 2023. Specifically, AlphaSights intentionally recruits student athletes for its Associate role on the Client Service Team, where colleagues have to think quickly on their feet and work hard to deliver extraordinary results for their clients.
Tim Drakeley, Vice President of Client Services at AlphaSights, played Varsity Football during his undergraduate career at Bowdoin College before joining the firm. “Former student athletes thrive at AlphaSights, bringing a winning mindset and unparalleled dedication to every challenge,” Drakeley says. “Their experiences on the field or court translate seamlessly into our fast-paced, collaborative environment, where teamwork, resilience, and goal-oriented focus are essential. Student-athletes have also proven to be great candidates to scale into managerial positions after only two years in our Associate role.”
Methodology
Hiring and application trends are based on an analysis of job and internship postings by 83 professional sports teams and governing bodies on Handshake between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2023. Teams were identified by name using a public list of professional sports teams in the US. Governing bodies include the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Soccer, Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, the United States Golf Association, the United States Tennis Association, USA Track and Field, and USA Gymnastics.
Search trends are based on keyword searches by student users on the Handshake platform.
Major trends are based on student majors as identified by the student or their higher education institution.