Sports physicians' earnings vary depending upon their responsibilities and the size and nature of the team. The private sports physician of a professional individual athlete, such as a figure skater or long-distance runner, will probably earn far less than the team physician for a professional football or basketball team, due to the high earnings and larger budget of the team. On the other hand, the team physician for the professional basketball team probably wouldn't have time for a private practice, although the sports physician for the figure skater or runner would, in all likelihood, also has a private practice or works for a sports health facility.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, general practitioners and family practice physicians earned an annual median income of $205,590 in May 2019. Ten percent of these physicians earned less than $85,590 annually in that same year, and some earned significantly more. This general figure does not include the fees and other income sports physicians receive from the various athletic organizations for whom they work. Again, these fees will vary according to the size of the team, the location, and the level of the athletic organization (high school, college, or professional, being the most common). The income generated from these fees is far less than what they earn in their private practices. Team physicians who are employed full time by a professional organization typically outearn their nonprofessional sports counterparts, by as much as $1 million or more.
Sports physicians who work as salaried employees of medical practices receive benefits such as health and life insurance and a savings and pension program. Self-employed physicians must provide their own benefits.
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