What Is a Sports Statistician? + How To Become One

A sports statistician analyzes and records data for sports of all types, including soccer, basketball, football, and baseball. In 2023, the global sports analytics market was $4.2 billion. The market predicts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.4 percent from 2023 to 2030, with an estimated value of $19.3 billion by the end of that time period [1]. Given its growth potential, a sports statistician can offer a great career to someone interested in data, statistics, and mathematics. 

Explore the role of a sports statistician by learning about the importance of statistics in sports, the skills you need, the average salary and job outlook, and some career paths you might take to become a sports statistician. 

What is a sports statistician?

A sports statistician records and analyzes data in sports like football, soccer, basketball, and hockey, though the role extends to any sport that generates data and trends. In this position, you will work to give teams, players, sports organizations, and agencies a competitive edge while also reporting statistics to outlets like newspapers and websites. Some common duties of a sports statistician include:

• Recording and scorekeeping during live games, though this is sometimes a different role done by the scorer 

• Generate reports for the media and teams during live games

• Create and update statistical projections

• Verify and audit statistics and plays throughout the game to ensure the official records for players and teams are accurate

Importance in various sports

Statistics in sports help in crucial areas such as talent acquisition, player development, team performance, and fan experience. However, each sport has a different need and application for statistics. Explore how different sports address these crucial areas below:

• Talent acquisition: In baseball, teams started using statistics to discover “hidden” talent in players overlooked or undervalued by traditional scouting methods. 

• Player development: In many sports, analytics helps players develop by identifying their strengths and weaknesses in certain situations. Coaches and managers can also identify these and play their roster accordingly against opponents. 

• Team performance: In American football (NFL), teams want a competitive edge. Statistics help coaches decide what plays to run in certain down and yard situations and what plays their opponent may run to counter them. 

• Fan experience: Sports statisticians may also collect data on ticket sales and engagement to better suit advertisers. Presenting analytics to fans during live sporting events can also promote deeper engagement with the game. 

Sports statistician skills

Sports statisticians need many different skills, such as data analysis, statistical analysis, knowledge of sports, and data visualization skills. Explore both workplace skills and technical skills crucial to a role in sports statistics. 

Workplace skills

Since sports statisticians work with many different types of people, players, coaches, and managers, workplace skills are important to their day-to-day role. Some common workplace skills include:

• Attention to detail

• Communication skills

• Observational abilities

• Stress management in high-pressure situations

• Ability to meet deadlines

Technical skills

As a sports statistician, you need a range of technical skills related to computers, statistical analysis software, and mathematics. Some of these specific skills include:

• In-depth knowledge of sports

• Mathematics

• Statistical analysis

• Computer science

• Data analysis

• Programming skills in Excel, SQL, Python, and R

Sports statistician salary and job outlook

According to Glassdoor’s January 2025 data, sports statisticians earn an average base salary of $76,892 [2]. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) states the median annual salary for mathematicians statisticians is $104,860, and for data scientists, it’s $108,020 [3, 4]. 

According to BLS, the job growth outlook for mathematicians and statisticians is 11 percent, and the growth outlook for data scientists is 36 percent [3, 4]. It's important to note that while the demand for statisticians in sports is increasing with the rise of advanced data analytics, it is a tight field with a lot of competition. 

Sports statistician career path

To become a sports statistician, you’ll typically need a bachelor’s degree to develop high-level skills in mathematics, statistics, and data analysis. Since sports analytics is a competitive field, the career path may vary from person to person. You can take steps to build strong skills by earning a bachelor's degree, getting internships, and volunteering.

Education

Data on Zippia indicates that 83.3 percent of sports statisticians hold a bachelor's degree [5]. You will want to choose a major like data science or statistics or a specific sports analytics major if your university offers one. You can typically complete a bachelor’s degree in four years when attending school full-time. While many sports statisticians hold a bachelor's degree, you can set yourself apart with more advanced statistical skills by earning a master’s degree in a related field, which typically takes two years to complete. 

Internships and gaining experience in sports analytics

In a competitive field like sports analytics, doing an internship is a critical way to learn the craft from working professionals and begin networking. In an internship, you will assist sports statistics professionals in their analytics department. You can get internships through professional sports teams, your college’s athletic department, or the media, helping organizations track live game data, analysis, and reporting. Some other ways to build skills and experience:

• Volunteering: If you are just starting out in your career, you can build skills and experience by volunteering at local sports organizations.

• Networking: In sports, building your network is extremely important as you connect with working professionals and build relationships. Platforms like LinkedIn, for example, offer helpful resources as you begin building your network. 

Entry-level jobs

It may take time to gain the experience in the field needed to become a sports statistician for a professional team, organization, or media outlet. Explore some entry-level jobs and their salaries below to help you gain experience:

(All salary information represents the average annual base pay from Glassdoor as of January 2025.)

• Official scorekeeper: $62,401 

• Scorekeeper: $37,049

• Sports data operator: $47,608

• Sports market researcher: $61,477

• Player development: $77,176

• Sports data entry: $46,892

• Pricing analyst: $69,116 

• Data researcher: $59,801

The future of sports analytics and technology

With nearly all major sports leagues, college athletics, and many minor leagues using analytics, the demand for more, better, and faster analytics is increasing. The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning creates new ways for sports analysts to make use of predictive analytics to reimagine how teams strategize. 

The use of data science techniques, data visualization, and virtual reality aids the team and fan experience by creating a competitive edge and unique merchandising opportunities. 

Learn more about sports analytics with Coursera 

Sports statisticians are in demand across many different sports because of their ability to analyze game data, increase player performance, and drive sports marketing. If you’re a data scientist looking to pivot into sports analytics, try the Introduction to Machine Learning in Sports Analytics course from the University of Michigan, which is a part of their Sports Performance Analytics Specialization on Coursera.