How much money does a sports writer make? It depends on the outlet they work for, their experience, and their location.
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Salaries by Position
A sports writer can make a decent salary. However, the salary for a sports writer varies depending on the position that he or she holds. For example, a sports editor can make a higher salary than a sports reporter. A sports writer’s salary also depends on the size of the publication that he or she works for.
Newspaper Sports Writer
The average salary for a Newspaper Sports Writer is $40,710 per year. Newspaper Sports Writers can make the most with an average salary of $49,000 per year, while those in the bottom 10 percent make close to $29,000 annually.
Magazine Sports Writer
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) notes that the median annual salary for all reporters and correspondents, including sports writers, was $37,720 as of May 2016. The top 10 percent of earners in the profession commanded annual salaries of more than $80,610, while the bottom 10 percent earned $23,490 or less.
Online Sports Writer
The average salary for an Online Sports Writer is $39,868 per year. Sports writers create content about sporting events and athletes for websites, magazines, newspapers, and other publications. They may cover specific sports or general sports news. In addition to writing articles, sports writers may be responsible for taking photographs, conducting interviews, and creating videos.
Salaries by Experience
Entry-Level Sports Writer
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not have specific wage information for sports writers. However, they report that the median annual wage for all reporters and correspondents, which includes sports writers, was $37,820 in May 2018. This means that half of all reporters and correspondents earned less than this amount and half earned more.
The lowest 10 percent made less than $23,490 a year, while the highest 10 percent earned more than $81,530 a year.
Most sports writers are paid hourly or per article. Salary information is not usually available for entry-level positions.However, Payscale.com reports that the median hourly wage for all freelance writers was $21 in 2019.
Mid-Career Sports Writer
Salaries for mid-career sports writers are generally higher than entry-level salaries, but the amount of experience needed to be considered a mid-career sports writer varies. Payscale.com reports that the average salary for a mid-career sports writer is $60,972 per year, with a range of $40,000 to $85,000. Glassdoor.com reports that the average salary for a mid-level sports writer is $62,854 per year, with a range of $48,000 to $80,000.
Experienced Sports Writer
Sports writers with several years of experience can earn salaries in the high five-figure range. For example, experienced sports writers at Bleacher Report and ESPN earn salaries of $75,000 and $85,000 per year, respectively. The top 10 percent of sports writers earn six-figure salaries, while the bottom 10 percent earn less than $30,000 per year.
Salaries by Region
The average salary for a sports writer is $36,823. Salaries for sports writers vary by region. In the United States, the Northeast region pays the highest salaries, while the South region pays the lowest salaries. The Midwest and West regions fall somewhere in the middle.
Northeast
Salaries for sports writers vary widely depending on the location of the job. In the Northeast region of the United States, the average salary for a sports writer is $48,610 per year.
Midwest
In the Midwest, sports writers make an average salary of $38,490 per year. The region with the highest average salary for this career is the Northeast, where sports writers make an average of $41,530 per year.
South
In the South, the average salary for a sports writer is $32,890 per year. The lowest 10 percent earn less than $21,560, and the highest 10 percent earn more than $46,480.
West
In the West, the average salary for a sports writer is $48,000 per year. The lowest 10 percent earn less than $28,000, and the highest 10 percent earn more than $79,000.