Somewhat Resilient
Last Update: 5/19/2026
AI Resilience Score for Athletes/Sport Competitors:
41.1%
Median Score
Meaningful human contribution
Measures the parts of the occupation that still require a human touch. This score averages data from up to four AI exposure datasets, focusing on the role’s resilience against automation.
Med
Long-term employer demand
Predicts the health of the job market for this role through 2034. Using Bureau of Labor Statistics data, it balances projected annual job openings (60%) with overall employment growth (40%).
Med
Sustained economic opportunity
Measures future earning potential and career flexibility. This score is a blend of total projected labor income (67%) and the role’s inherent ability to adapt to economic and technological shifts (33%).
Low
This reflects the reliability of your score based on the number of data sources available for this career and how closely those sources agree on the outlook. A higher confidence means more consistent evidence from labor experts and AI models.
There are a reasonable number of sources for this result, but there is some disagreement between them.
Contributing sources
AI Resilience Report forAthletes and Sports Competitors
$62,360 median salary•2,100 annual openings•SOC Code: 27-2021.00
Athletes and Sports Competitors are somewhat less resilient to AI impacts than most occupations, according to our analysis of 5 sources.
Athletes and sports competitors land in the "Somewhat Resilient" category because the actual physical performance — running, competing, and winning — can never be automated, but a growing slice of the job is being meaningfully reshaped by AI. Tools powered by AI are now handling film review, injury prediction, nutrition planning, and even personal branding, which means athletes who once relied on coaches and agents for all of that are now expected to engage with these technologies themselves.
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Athletes and sports competitors land in the "Somewhat Resilient" category because the actual physical performance — running, competing, and winning — can never be automated, but a growing slice of the job is being meaningfully reshaped by AI. Tools powered by AI are now handling film review, injury prediction, nutrition planning, and even personal branding, which means athletes who once relied on coaches and agents for all of that are now expected to engage with these technologies themselves.
Read full analysisAnalysis of Current AI Resilience
Athletes/Sport Competitors
Updated Quarterly
How is AI changing Athletes/Sport Competitors jobs?
When it comes to athletes, AI is mostly being used to augment — not replace — the people on the field. According to Deloitte's 2026 Global Sports Industry Outlook [1], teams are deploying AI to "protect and optimize sports organizations' most valuable assets—their players—by assessing player fitness and conditioning, predicting and preventing injuries, and using AI agents to review game film." A new paper in Clinical Practice in Athletic Training [2] (March 2026) describes how AI-driven computer vision and "digital twin" models let trainers test rehab plans and spot early injury signals without putting athletes at risk. Leagues are scaling this fast: the NBA and AWS launched "NBA Inside the Game" [3], turning billions of tracking data points into coaching and broadcast insights.
Even individual athletes are experimenting with general-purpose tools — Ukrainian Paralympian Maksym Murashkovskyi credited ChatGPT as "revolutionary" for his training [4] ahead of the 2026 Winter Paralympics, and a New York Times-syndicated report [5] found two-thirds of gymgoers used AI fitness software in 2025. The actual physical performance — running, jumping, competing — still has to be done by humans, but the thinking around it (film review, recovery, nutrition, media content) is increasingly AI-assisted.
Sources
How fast is AI adoption growing for Athletes/Sport Competitors?
Adoption is moving quickly because the economic upside is huge: a single injury can cost millions, and AI prediction tools are cheap compared with the value of keeping a star healthy. AI also lowers content costs — Frontiers researchers found [6] that generative AI is helping athletes build personal brands and reach fans directly, bypassing traditional gatekeepers. But there are real brakes too.
LaLiga Business School warns [7] that biased algorithms can quietly affect "talent identification and scouting, player valuation models, performance predictions," meaning unconventional athletes may be unfairly overlooked. Privacy of biometric data, the "black box" problem, and union pushback all slow things down. The good news for young people: the human qualities that matter most in this career — grit, teamwork, leadership, charisma with fans, and the actual ability to play — aren't going anywhere.
AI is becoming a powerful training partner, but the athlete is still the athlete.
Sources
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More Career Info
Career: Athletes and Sports Competitors
They train and compete in sports to win games and improve their skills while representing teams or themselves in various competitions.
Parent Careers
Employment & Wage Data
Median Wage
$62,360
Jobs (2024)
19,100
Growth (2024-34)
+5.5%
Annual Openings
2,100
Education
No formal educational credential
Experience
None
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2024-2034
Task-Level AI Resilience Scores
AI-generated estimates of task resilience over the next 3 years
1
Participate in athletic events or competitive sports, according to established rules and regulations.
2
Attend scheduled practice or training sessions.
3
Exercise or practice under the direction of athletic trainers or professional coaches to develop skills, improve physical condition, or prepare for competitions.
4
Lead teams by serving as captain.
5
Maintain optimum physical fitness levels by training regularly, following nutrition plans, or consulting with health professionals.
6
Maintain equipment used in a particular sport.
7
Represent teams or professional sports clubs, performing such activities as meeting with members of the media, making speeches, or participating in charity events.
Tasks are ranked by their AI resilience, with the most resilient tasks shown first. Core tasks are essential functions of this occupation, while supplemental tasks provide additional context.
