If you could be a professional athlete for any sport ?

Are we assuming that your performance is guaranteed? If so, golf or F1 racing. If not, probably MLB or NBA to get a few seasons of sold coin before being worried about being let go.

Golf is terribly stressful and incredibly lonely if you're not playing well. You can get booted from F1 in a heartbeat after one poor race, and so much depends on the car you're driving.

I like the fact that you can play pro baseball and maintain a relatively normal life (outside of travel and schedule). I would just get very bored training for that kind of sport. I would prefer NBA training and fitness level, but I would not like that level of fame.

My goal would be three seasons of high pay and then an early retirement to run a lot and enjoy my family.

Soccer. It can be played anywhere in the world.

Nate Archibald wrote:

Would anyone actually choose running over the major popular sports?

Baseball for sure. Besides the fact it is the most fun, you aren't going to have chronic brain issues, you will make a ton more money, and your body won't be shot afterwards.

Basketball with the qualifier that I'm 6'9" and have the athleticism of Magic Johnson and the skills of Pete Maravich.

stan the corgi wrote:

Basketball with the qualifier that I'm 6'9" and have the athleticism of Magic Johnson and the skills of Pete Maravich.

And the scoring ability of Wilt?:) I have a feeling being 6'9 would get old in a hurry.....

Precious Roy wrote:

Golf is the obvious choice. It is the only sport that you can play your entire life at a high level of competition and win real money even after you hit 50. Not sure how well guys like DeChambeau will hold up swinging as hard as they do. Tiger destroyed his back and knees. But assuming that these guys work with good physios who watch their bodies carefully, you cannot beat the life of a pro golfer. Of course, you have to be consistent and have enough top 50 finishes to pay the bills. The life of a PGA pro who is on the bubble all the time is pretty harsh. For every pro making seven figures, staying at nice hotels and eating at 5 star restaurants there are dozens who are barely breaking even, staying at the Hampton Inn and eating cold cuts for dinner.

It isn't just Tiger that destroyed his body. The list of guys with. back. and hip injuries is endless. The human body just. isn't ment to do golf swings for 4+ hours/day.

If. you make the same money. would you rather do it in like 10 years (soccer player) or 30 years (pro golfer)? I can see either point of view. Not having to give up your sport is nice. Moving on to something new is also nice. For the pro golfer, living out of the suit case for like 20 weeks of the year will be rough even with a private jet to fly you around. I think something like the Premier league where you spent more nights in your own bed might be better but the physical wear and tear is bit rough. Or being like Usain bolt where you live at home for most of the year and do a 10 week European trip to pay the bills....

Tennis players and baseball players also have similar issues as golfers. Nevertheless the fact that we have 50+ year old professional golfers and 80 year olds still playing show that it is easier on the body than stop and go contact and collision sports.

I like your point about soccer players being able to spend as much time as possible at home. Given that European countries are small and you don't have to deal with changing time zones is another plus. But I'd take Florida and California weather over a rainy day in Stoke or Newcastle.

For money and fame I would do basketball. For the respect I would be a UFC fighter - it's a sh!t job with a lot of risk, but to me it's the pinnacle of sport (behind curling of course).

Belly bucking

Golf. No head trauma. Long careers. And, have you seen those women in the LPGA? I'd be meeting them every chance!!

Playing football (soccer for you Yanks) professionally in the English Premier League for a top club. They make millions each year!

Precious Roy wrote:

The life of a PGA pro who is on the bubble all the time is pretty harsh.

Not compared to the life of a ATP Tour pro on the bubble. A PGA golfer has a guaranteed spot on the tour for the season. On the ATP Tour, your entry into tournaments depends on your ranking that changes every week. There is more money in the minor league (Korn Ferry Tour) than the minor league of pro tennis. Your place on the Korn Ferry Tour is also more secure. Travel is much easier.

My two favorite sports to follow and participate in have always been 1) running and 2) basketball. If money weren’t a factor I would be a pro runner no question. As is, it comes down to a case-by-case basis.

Whose career would you rather have, Galen Rupp or Alex Caruso? Caruso is signed to a solid 2 year, $5.5 million contract and just got a bunch of TV time and won a championship, but I’ll take Rupp's career (the drug suspicions would kinda suck though).

Alex Caruso vs. Robby Andrews? Caruso by a hair.

Chris Paul vs. Dathan Ritzenhein? Chris Paul.

Chris Paul vs. Kenenisa Bekele? Kenenisa Bekele.

Steph Curry vs. Kenenisa Bekele. Toss-up. Both incredible fantasies.

Michael Jordan vs. any runner ever? Probably Jordan thanks to the $1.6B.

For sure golf. Lucrative. Not too hard on your body and many do this long term. And relaxing. If I could have done it all over again, I would have chosen golf 100%.

If you can make it on the PGA tour at all, you are pretty much getting paid 1 million per year for just showing up.

Baseball. If you’re good and play for at least six years, you are an unrestricted free agent and get a guaranteed contract. There is also less chance of life-changing injury.

this and this wrote:

If you crave money, attention, exposure or publicity, then running is not the way to go.

But if you value knowing that success depends on yourself, and you value the internal satisfaction that comes from individual measurable improvement, running is good.

Oh, I suspect there are plenty of elite and near-elite runners who deeply yearn for attention, exposure, publicity, and even money. Witness the cattiness on this very site.

And there are plenty of people in team sports who value individual measurable improvement.

coach wrote:

Tennis players and baseball players also have similar issues as golfers. Nevertheless the fact that we have 50+ year old professional golfers and 80 year olds still playing show that it is easier on the body than stop and go contact and collision sports.

I like your point about soccer players being able to spend as much time as possible at home. Given that European countries are small and you don't have to deal with changing time zones is another plus. But I'd take Florida and California weather over a rainy day in Stoke or Newcastle.

There are plenty of people playing 50+ beer league hockey. Or shooting hoops at the YMCA:). Golf for whatever reason found a way for masters to make money. Old timers games and the like in other sports never brought in the. same amount of fans. I think it might be more fun to be a 50 year golfer who is playing after 15 years of being a pro in another sport versus being the guy who can remember what it used to be like to be really good..... To some extent any sport at the pro level is rough. All those hours of training really can take a toll on the body. And one thing that should be mentioned is that PGA rounds average is up around 4:30. That is painfully slow play:)

And yeah maybe being La Liga or Serie A would be better than the Premier league:)

Formula 1

Not Formula E

pcli5kdoc wrote:

Formula 1

Not Formula E

Not sure what the odds of ending up with a life ending injury is. :) I am not sure how great being a F1 driver is if you are in the back of the field. Being Lewis Hamilton would be fun. Being the guy on Williams who is coming in last every race and has no chance because of equipment probably isn't a lot of fun. And I am not sure how long those guy careers are.