Professional Basketball Athletes and Betting
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If you love watching sports, it means you probably spend way too much time parked in front of your TV, scrolling through Twitter, or reading your favorite team’s online message boards. But what if you could take this passion and monetize it? Believe it or not, there are ways to do this.

4 Ways to Monetize Your Passion

Nobody goes to college, graduates, and then applies for jobs thinking, “Man, I really hope I can find a boring job that pays just enough to help me keep the lights on and put food on the table. That would be the dream!” No, of course not. At your core, you want to make money doing things you’re passionate about. 

While you might not have been blessed with the athletic ability to make a living playing sports, there are plenty of opportunities to monetize your passion for sports outside of the arena. Here are several suggestions:

  1. Start a Blog or Podcast

Are you the sports fan who has an unlimited supply of weird facts and sports debates swirling around inside your brain? Do you constantly talk about sports with your friends and colleagues? You might need an outlet – and a monetizable one at that.

There’s never been a better time to start a blog or podcast surrounding your sports fandom. Not only is there a thirsty audience, but user-friendly tools and applications make it easy to go from idea to launch in a matter of days.

When it comes to blogging, drag-and-drop website builders make launching a blog simple. From there, you can leverage your own social media profiles and other traffic sources to drive people to your content. 

As for podcasting, more people are listening than ever before. Podcast listeners have grown 29.5 percent in just the last three years alone (with 57 percent of Americans tuning in). All you need are a couple of basic pieces of tech and you’re ready to go!

If you’re going to launch a blog or podcast, you should be prepared to put in some time before actually turning a profit or creating predictable cash flow. The key is to be patient and disciplined. 

  1. Play Fantasy Sports

Fantasy sports might not seem like a way to make money, but it can be if you know what you’re doing. The key is to join fantasy sports leagues where you’re most knowledgeable. For example, join a fantasy baseball league if you know a lot about baseball. But don’t join a fantasy hockey league just for the heck of it. And while season-long fantasy leagues are fun, you might get more enjoyment (and profitability) out of daily fantasy leagues. 

  1. Try Trading on Sports

Not a big fan of fantasy sports? Tired of the traditional one sided sportsbooks? Want an experience that more closely mimics trading stocks or financial assets? You might be more interested in a new app called Sporttrade.

Sporttrade is a new dynamic sports betting and trading exchange that lets you trade sports bets and teams like you would stocks. Bets go up and down in value based on how a team is performing and you can make trades in the middle of a game as the action is happening.

While Sporttrade is technically still gambling, the stock trading-like element brings in elements of financial markets. It also allows you to showcase some of your skills by trading in and out of positions based on what you’re seeing in the game. Don’t forget to always bet responsibly and safely!

  1. Start a Sports Bar

If you really have an entrepreneurial spirit, consider starting your very own sports bar or tailgating venue. These days, you don’t need a massive building or lots of square footage. Food trucks and mobile tailgating solutions are becoming very popular. This allows you to go to where the action is. You can even work out deals with local teams (college or professional) and bring your truck outside their venue before, during, and after games.

Adding it All Up

By no means is this article an exhaustive or guaranteed list of ways you can make money as a sports fan. It’s simply a start. If you’re serious about turning your passion into a full-time or part-time income, do yourself a favor and begin researching all of the options. As the creative juices start flowing, you’ll find inspiration in the most unlikely of places.