As a sports scout, you will be either working for a particular sports team or as individual selling information to teams. An eye for observing the spark among the players and a well-experienced hand in a particular sport can give you a good start in the field of sports scouting, concerning the salary. So, let’s know about Sports Scout Salary and How to become a sports scout?
On average, a professional sports scout earns about $36,330 annually as updated by the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics. The top 10% earns above $81,940 while the bottom 10% earns less than $19,340. The salary of a sports scout can change concerning the location, school/company they are working for, experience, the sport which they are scouting for, and most importantly, the duration of the job – part-time or full-time scouting.
Most of the sports scouts work for less than a full day, also each company’s requirements of working hours will be different thus, resulting in low average salary. Due to the given factors, the salary of a sports scout is 13% less than the average income from other occupations. Many scouts take up other side jobs while working as part-time scouts. Sports scouts are recruited in the state/private colleges/universities, elementary and secondary schools- state/private and arts, recreation, and entertainment sectors. Your salary majorly depends on your experience in this field. Let’s take a look at how much each of the workplaces offers scouts –
How Much Sports Scouts Make?
| Sectors | Annual average salary as per May 2020 |
| State/private colleges/universities, professional schools | $47,020 |
| Arts, recreation, and entertainment sectors | $37,630 |
| Elementary and secondary schools- state/private | $31,450 |
Despite the comparatively low salary, sports scouting will have the highest growth percentage of employment of about 12% in the coming years 2019-2029 as said by the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics. A gradual increase in salary has been seen in the past decade. This is said as seen by the pattern of increasing participation of many small schools/colleges as well as women in the sports field. The colleges having the best team increases the college’s reputation and the number of new students joining the college. Having the best players also increases the chances of getting donations from alumni. The addition of new teams increases the competition for the title/scholarship and the high need to have the best players raises the demand for sports scouts. Scouts get good pay from professional teams, thus the competition to work for one is high. Scouts can also work as coaches in high schools. The given list gives the range of salary earned annually by scouts concerning the game which they team up for-
| American Football | $45k- $95k |
| Basketball | $17.93k – $70k |
| Baseball | $17.93k – $71k |
| Soccer | $22k to $45k few professional scouts earn around $67.5k |
| Ice Hockey | $17.93k – $70k |
*The games are arranged based on their popularity in the U.S.
The following table gives us an idea of the overall distribution of salary for a sports scout throughout the U.S. It helps us to know which state will be offering more for the same amount of work done.
| Ten states which pay the highest annual mean wages- | Ten states which pay the lowest annual mean wages- | ||
| District of Columbia | $72,180 | Puerto Rico | $23,200 |
| Louisiana | $58,890 | Montana | $29,320 |
| Massachusetts | $58,710 | Kansas | $30,750 |
| Nevada | $57,500 | Iowa | $33,990 |
| South Carolina | $56,460 | Idaho | $34,330 |
| West Virginia | $56,280 | Wisconsin | $34,800 |
| New Jersey | $55,760 | Utah | $34,950 |
| New York | $54,510 | Oklahoma | $36,960 |
| Texas | $53,740 | South Dakota | $39,620 |
| North Carolina | $53,020 | New Hampshire | $40,190 |
Are you eligible?
- For becoming a sports scout, you do not compulsorily require a college degree, but one should have a bachelor’s degree in business, sports management, or related fields which is of 3-4 years duration. To name them, a degree in physical education/ exercise science/ kinesiology/ sports medicine/ marketing/ business/ recreation and fitness etc is necessary.
- Experience plays a key role in confirming your eligibility as it helps in evaluating the talent in young players. It is not compulsory but would be an additional point if the individual was a former player in that game at a college or professional level. He/she should be following that game for a long time and also should have experience coaching a team at a high level. Having these can increase your chances of getting hired.
- Minimum 18 years of age is required.
- Some scouting services expect you to have a certification but those scouts who are interested in coaching are required to have a certificate of training in first-aid, sports safety, and CPR.
How to become a sports scout?
Step 1- Play the sport
Pursue your sport, learn what it is like to be a player, to develop skills, to identify mistakes, to learn strategies, to work under pressure, to work in a team (in a team game), to grow better every day, lastly to completely understand and absorb the game. This experience will help you evaluate others and identify their skills as a scout.
Step 2- Achieve a degree
As discussed before, scouts must have a degree. It will not only help you become a scout but also increase your career prospects in sports as a degree can validate many other professions. It will make your resume flexible.
Step 3- Build people skills and gain experience
Your duties as a scout will only begin after you join a collegiate or professional team, till then you need to develop your scout skills by working as a part-time talent spotter. Interact with players, coaches, parents, develop the habit of research, most importantly work with other scouts. It is good if you start your scouting profession by becoming a coach first. The salary of a coach and a scout is almost the same. By becoming a coach, you will automatically build people skills, know how to train a particular player/team, observe each player with their strong points and weak points and thus position them strategically, etc. all of these skills will help you build a good relationship with the players as well as will sharpen your skills as a scout in increasing your contact list.
Duties of a Sports scout
- Being updated with all sports news thus finding probable athletes for your team
- Building a good relationship with high school/college coaches so they may help you bring in prospects
- Watching and analyzing the performances of probable athletes thus making their statistical reports
- Talking with the athlete and their coaches to look for the needed qualities
- Comparing the reports with other probable athletes on the list
- Presenting the ultimate results and the most probable athlete to your team coach, manager
- Help the owner/ manager to decide on which player to invest in for a particular level of the game.
- Offering the athlete with suitable stipends
Skills required by a Sports scout
- Strong decision-making skills-
The ability to think about what is needed in an athlete concerning the team keeping in view the skills and previous performances of an athlete requires good decision-making skills. The needs of the team change over time thus the scout needs to decide in that manner.
- Good communication skills (people skills)-
The ability to easily engage with the athlete along with the people of your company is very important. They should be fluent in presenting their idea on why a particular player is best for a team to the coaches as well as why the team that they are representing is the best for a particular athlete to join in.
- Driven by passion-
As per the demand of this profession, you must be passionate enough to keep yourself every day updated about the players and their performances, to persevere in understanding the changing needs of your team, and most importantly knowledge about the competitors in the current market.
Work Environment
As a scout, the majority of your work will be outside the four walls of the office. It may also require you to travel to the places where your potential players are playing. If you are employed in a professional team, you will be required to travel to high schools and colleges to look for upcoming new talents. They also need to travel to different sports events. The work schedule for a scout can vary as many scouts choose to be self-employed and to be paid for a particular assignment with varying duration. Scouts are employed with part-time jobs and as experience increases, they can work full-time while coordinating with other scouts.
The path progression for a sports scout
- After completing the program for certification, a scout can apply for the post of coach. As a coach, you will instead go a step forward in actually implementing your experience of the game among the players.
- In later years of scouting and coaching, you can become an entrepreneur where one can start their own sports consultation company. The experience and the network of contact that one made in the path of scouting helps in becoming a successful entrepreneur.
- It is seen that companies prefer hiring former international players as sports scouts.
Overall sports scouts are an important part of an organization as they can predict a player’s future based on the skills; they possess. As we know that sports is not just the players that we see but it is much more than that, a job of a sports scout packs a full measure of responsibility, enthusiasm, travel, hard work, passion, and dedication.
