How Much Do NFL Team Physicians Make

How Much Do NFL Team Physicians Make

NFL or National Football League is the most popular sports in the United States of America. It is one of the fourth American professional football league and also one of the wealthiest football leagues. The 17-week regular season of NFL runs from the beginning of September until late December. There are 32 teams, and each of them plays 16 games.

In every season along with practice sessions, preseason and games there are more than 200 serious injuries takes place. And this is one of the primary reason for which every NFL team has a physician to treat the players. But, ever wonder what it takes to become NFL team physician? Or how much do NFL team Physicians make?

An NFL physician earns around $78000 to $500000 plus. In this article, we are going to provide all the necessary information about NFL physicians in brief.

Qualification of NFL team physicians
Team physicians require extended training in Orthopedic Surgery, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine or Family Medicine. In sports medicines, many physicians have also completed their fellowship. This indicates that the physicians have to complete multiple training for years, such as

- 04 years of undergraduate study

- 04 years of medical school

- 04 to 05 years of residency

- At least 01 Year of fellowship training

However, most of the NFL team physicians have previous experience as a team physician at the high school and college level.

Steps of becoming a physician

Hence sports are one of the significant sources of entertainment. It also involves national heritage; thus, many people are passionate enough to be a part of sports. Not everyone can become a sportsman, but being a physician can be a useful method to be a part of the national league.

To become a sports team physician in the NFL, a person needs to have some required qualification such as:

- Get certificate and complete fellowship training

Team physicians for professional athletes must have a certificate in sports medicine along with fellowship training under another team physician. This training method can give you the experience and exposure to the given field.

Being a fellow, you can go into the training room and experience the interaction between all professionals and the process of therapies to have an idea about your duties.

- Volunteer at the high school level

An excellent manner to build a reputation for yourself in your community is to work with competitive youth leagues and high school teams. Forming a network in those leagues helps gets the attention, so the people in charge of the professional leagues notice your work.

-  Partner with minor league teams

Team physicians often work for the title of "official team physician" to professional teams, but minor league teams don't have the same attraction. Minor league teams require a highly qualified physician. Still, minor leagues aren't financially solvent to support a regular team physician, so you can volunteer to provide the primary level of care.

Being a physician at the minor leagues will allow you to treat players who have the potential to end up in major leagues. In that case, you will have a good reputation when the players whom you treat in minor league ends up in the major league of NFL.

- Establish yourself as a competent physician with one sport

Work specifically in any sports to treat the athlete in those specific sports to become an expert in that line of work.

How much does NFL team physician make?

Team physicians are doctors who are experts in sports medicine and work for professional and high-school or college level athletes.

Average salary

The average salary of a team athlete is $187000 annually. Several factors determine the salary of a physician such as experiences, location and the type of professional sports team.

For example, in the Western Region of the U.S, team physicians can earn $187200 per year as salary.  In the Southern region, the average salary of a physician is slightly lower and stands around $184800 per year.

As an orthopaedic doctor

Orthopaedic doctors treat the musculoskeletal system of our body. An orthopaedic doctor is a physician who treats problems of the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons. Orthopaedic doctors may work in a large hospital, clinics or sports medicine facility.

Salary of an orthopaedic Doctor

The annual salary for an orthopedist ranges from $200000 to $512500 and sometimes even more when it comes to NFL medical facilities. At times doctors travel with the players and occasionally check the players personally. In these factors, a doctor may earn more.

At the initial stage, an orthopaedic doctor may earn less, which is around $60280 to $111440 per year and $29 to $54 per hour.

With more experience and expertise, the salary rises and stands over 200000$ yearly and $100 hourly.

Final Verdict

Sports are the most popular form of entertainment not because it is fun to watch and play but also because it includes your nation, states and even area. We can connect more to a team when it is integrated with our core. And the NFL is the most popular form of sport in the U.S.A without a doubt.

Many people have a dream of becoming an athlete and be a part of a team to make their land proud. But in many cases, we get driven away for many reasons. For some people, a dream stays there to be a part of a team. Maybe not as a player but as a support for being around his home team or be part of their favourite sports.

If you are a physician and passionate about the NFL, then this article can guide you to be a part of a team. Being a part of a team as a physician in NFL does not just provide you satisfaction for persuading your passion, but also you will get a good incentive.