Most jobs in sports are pretty good. But some jobs are better than others and some are way worse. So here’s a look at the best and worst jobs in sports.
Five best jobs in sports
Tiger Woods' caddie
Most caddies get about $1,000 a week plus 5 percent of the tournament purse, and even more for a top-10 finish or a victory. Tiger wins too much to pay out that kind of dough, but Forbes magazine once guessed Tiger's caddie, Steve Williams, makes more than $1-million a year. Not a bad gig for carrying around a bag of clubs and saying, "Nice shot, Tiger.''
Team owner, National Football League
There's a salary cap, so you can only spend so much. And the league practically prints money. The TV contacts alone pay the league more than $3.7-billion a year. That's billion with a B. And you get the same money whether you go 0-16 or 16-0.
First-base coach, San Diego Padres
Can you hold batting gloves? Work a stopwatch? Yell "Back!'' when a pitcher throws to first? Great, you're hired. When a guy named Stump Merrill was hired to be the Yankees first-base coach years ago, his wife asked, "What's a first-base coach do besides pat guys on the rear end?'' He said, "Nothing, let's practice!'' Why the Padres? They've had the fewest baserunners this season.
TV color analyst, any sport
I'm not suggesting they don't work hard and do homework and all that jazz. But don't all of us sit at home and yell out stuff at the screen? The only difference is analysts don't swear, don't have potato chip grease on their fingers and they usually have to wear a shirt with buttons. And, oh, yeah, they get paid.
Trainer of boxing contender
You only work a few hours a day, and by "work'' we mean "bark out orders to your fighter during training.'' You get to watch while they’re the ones taking punches in the face. Then you get paid when your guy wins. And if your guy gets knocked out, he doesn't remember what you did or didn't do, so he can't blame you. Then you get paid.
Five worst jobs
Public relations director, Cincinnati Bengals
For starters, there's a good chance of a weekly 4 a.m. phone call from a bail bondsman, followed by a hastily-called news conference to explain how another player has been arrested for domestic this or possession of that. And after all that, you have Chad Johnson. Lone perk is you’re on a first-name basis with all the local cops.
Head coach, Golden State Warriors
The Warriors have had nine coaches in the past 13 seasons, making it the most precarious job since Naomi Campbell's personal assistant. And you play in Oakland, which, sorry, isn't exactly San Francisco.
Director of ticket sales, Pittsburgh Pirates
Sure, you can market the swanky new stadium until you realize that it actually isn't all that new anymore. After eight years at PNC Park, Pittsburghers pretty much have seen all the downtown skyline there is to see. Now you have to sell a team that hasn't had a winning record since 1992 and looks like it's not going to have another one until 2092.
Commissioner, National Hockey League
An impossible job. Eighty percent of your teams play in a country where no one cares. The rest of the teams play in a country that invented the sport and likes to remind everyone, especially you, of it. Whatever you do, it's never good enough.
International soccer referee
If you a blow a call in an NBA or NHL game, you might get pelted with expletives from a few fans. Blow a call in some soccer stadium in Europe or South America and there’s a chance you'll get pelted with a few bullets. Here, bad referees live in infamy. There, bad referees can live, so to speak, 6 feet under.
Tom Jones doesn't sing "It's Not Unusual'' or shake his hips (well, unless you're willing to pay cash), but he does have plenty to say about sports. If it's funny, crazy, weird, irreverent or worth arguing, Tom has his opinions. So pull up a chair and get his two cents -- and give him your two cents, as well.
E-mail Tom Jones:
just off the top of my head:
best
1) towel boy for any number of women's tennis players
2) local sports talk radio host (you get to talk about what you want and you get paid OK to good coin doing what the rest of us do at a bar)
3) nfl team owner = license to print money
4) college football analyst (see no. 2 only you get to go to the best games eash week and spend the rest of the week watching dvr'ed games)
5) baseball commissioner. you get paid obscene sums of money and continually get your contract extended for being functionally inept.
worst
2) wwe wrestling referee
2) tv sports critic. that means you have to watch espn, the non-basketball association and golf. i'd rather PAY to have my fingernails pulled out with a pair of pliers.
3) anything in the golf industry (means you have to deal with golfers every day. i'd rather do telemarketing trying to con old ladies into buying new siding).
4) stable cleaner at a horse or dog track.
5) national league pitcher. means you have to pitch to albert pujols several times a year. how many pitchers' careers has he personally wrecked?
5)
Posted by: joe hillman | May 22, 2008 at 10:01 AM