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Role hub · Sports Medicine Physicians

Sports Medicine Physician: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

BLS does not publish pay for sports medicine physicians separately. Every pay figure on this page is for the BLS occupation “Physicians, All Other” (SOC 29-1229), which includes sports medicine physicians and other jobs; it is not a figure for sports medicine physicians alone.

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Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of workers in the BLS occupation “Physicians, All Other” earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$265,930
Hourly
$127.85
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Sports Medicine Physicians diagnose, treat, and help prevent injuries that occur during sporting events, athletic training, and physical activities. The median pay is $265,930 a year ($127.85 an hour) (BLS, May 2025).

Median pay
$265,930
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
342,720
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 5 of 5
extensive preparation
Key facts

Sports Medicine Physicians at a glance

  • Workers in the BLS occupation “Physicians, All Other” (which includes sports medicine physicians) in the United States earned a median annual wage of $265,930 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry-level education for sports medicine physicians in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimated that 342,720 people were employed as sports medicine physicians in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Explore the role

Every page for Sports Medicine Physicians

SalaryPhysicians, All Other salary

BLS pay data for this occupation, by state and percentile.

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The work

What sports medicine physicians do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
  2. Order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures.
  3. Record athletes' medical histories, and perform physical examinations.
  4. Refer athletes for specialized consultation, physical therapy, or diagnostic testing.
  5. Provide education and counseling on illness and injury prevention.
  6. Advise against injured athletes returning to games or competition if resuming activity could lead to further injury.
  7. Examine, evaluate and treat athletes who have been injured or who have medical problems such as exercise-induced asthma.
  8. Record athletes' medical care information, and maintain medical records.
Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all sports medicine physician jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix). Figures cover all physicians, all other (SOC 29-1229), the broader occupation.

  1. Ambulatory healthcare services47.1% of all jobs in this occupation · +5.4% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $298,900
  2. Hospitals; state, local, and private30.6% of all jobs in this occupation · +3.7% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $218,610
  3. Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals11.1% of all jobs in this occupation · -4.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $290,580
  4. Educational services; state, local, and private5.9% of all jobs in this occupation · +2.5% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $119,060
  5. Administrative and support services0.6% of all jobs in this occupation · +1.8% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $271,800
  6. Professional, scientific, and technical services0.5% of all jobs in this occupation · +13.7% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $230,600

Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.

Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Reading ComprehensioncoreJudgment and Decision MakingcoreCritical ThinkingcoreActive ListeningSpeakingSocial PerceptivenessComplex Problem SolvingActive LearningMonitoring

Knowledge areas: Medicine and Dentistry, Biology, English Language, Therapy and Counseling, Psychology, Education and Training.

Tools and technology

Software sports medicine physicians use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Epic SystemsMedical softwareIn demand
  • eClinicalWorks EHR softwareMedical softwareHot technology
  • 3D motion analysis softwareAnalytical or scientific software
  • Allscripts PMMedical software
  • Automatic Data Processing AdvancedMD EHRMedical software
  • Benchmark Systems Benchmark Clinical EHRMedical software
  • Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMRMedical software
  • CareCloud CentralMedical software
  • Cerner PowerWorks Practice ManagementMedical software
  • Epic Practice ManagementMedical software
  • GE Healthcare Centricity Practice SolutionMedical software
  • GalacTek ECLIPSEMedical software

Also called: Sport Medicine Physician, Athletic Team Physician, MD (Medical Doctor), Nonsurgical Primary Care Sports Medicine Physician, Orthopedic Team Physician, Pediatric Sports Medicine Physician, Physician.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.