A sportscaster friend of mine was telling me that when he graduated college ten years ago, he envisioned earning a six-figure salary that would allow him to own a big house, drive a nice sports car, travel to exotic island destinations at least every other year and allow his wife to not work.
Today, he’s earning close to the six-figure sportscasting salary he desired. His home, while not as large as he would like, is modest and comfortable. Both of the family cars are sedans with over 100,000 miles. The last family vacation they took was to Six Flags America three years ago, and his wife works full-time.
He’s happy. He’s comfortable and he’s grateful for his sports broadcasting career. He just wishes he knew at 22 what he knows at 32 so his expectations would have been more reasonable.
If you tell most 22 year olds that they’ll earn $100,000 a year by the age of 32, they’ll likely have visions of grandeur similar to those of my friend.
There are many reasons why $100,000 won’t go as far at 32 as it will at 22.
Life tends to cost more than we expect:
- Student loans
- Auto loan(s)
- Marriage
- Children
- A mortgage
- Larger salaries mean larger markets with higher costs of living
Sports broadcasting is an awesome career for folks like you and me who love sports. The money is not often great, but there are many wonderful benefits unrelated to salary.
However, be reasonable about your earning potential and the lifestyle it will afford. Doing so will prevent grief and disappointment.
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Hi Don — great idea. I might do a “What Sportscasters Earn” post as soon as next week. Thank you for the suggestion. Also, thank you for your support of STAA. I’ve enjoyed our interactions going back to when we met at ODT.
Go Chippewas!
Thanks Jon. You do great work for young broadcasters!
Still going to do the “What Sportscasters Earn,” though not quite yet. It might be a few months, but it is coming. Again, thank you for the great suggestion, Don.