Salary of Sports Psychologists
Sports psychology is a popular career choice among sports fans looking for a way to make their passion their profession. Sports psychology is concerned with the psychological effects of sports competition on athletes as well as the effects of injury on behavior in an athlete. Sports psychologists work for professional sports teams as well as those competing in individual sports such as tennis or golf. Sports psychologists are employed at all levels of sport, including professional, amateur and collegiate.
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Salary
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The typical salary range for most sports psychologists is from $45,000 to $80,000 per year. Top earners among sports psychologists can take home over $100,000 in annual salary. The average salary for self-employed sports psychologists in 2009 was $71,880, while salaried professionals at institutions earned an average salary of $55,000.
Work Environment
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Sports psychologists work for a variety of employers. Many sports psychologists are employed by colleges and universities that field numerous sports teams. A smaller but generally better-paid portion of sports psychologists work for professional sports teams. Psychologists working for a college or university often find additional work teaching courses in sports psychology. Some sports psychologists work in private practice and have their own clinical offices instead of a sports team's facilities.
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Geography
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Sports psychologists, especially self-employed psychologists in private practice, earn more money in metropolitan areas that have a larger number of professional sports teams. Chicago and New York City both offer the highest average salaries for sports psychologists, $84,829 and $84,230, respectively. The New York City metropolitan area is home to five professional sports teams and is relatively nearby other sports teams playing out of the Meadowlands and Nassau Coliseum, and Chicago is home to at least six professional sports teams. Alternatively, Indianapolis and Charlotte, N.C., are both home to two pro sports teams; average salaries for sports psychologists are $66,738 and $65,484, respectively.
Other Psychologist Salaries
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Salary ranges for sports psychologists fall within the same average salary range as other types of professional psychologists, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among all psychologists, those working in private practice with other health practitioners earned the highest median salary of $68,400 in 2009. Psychologists earned less when employed at outpatient care centers ($59,130) and family services facilities ($57,440).
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