Sports Analytics Hiring Statistics: The Skills Teams Want
In Jul–Oct 2026, 30% of data and analytics job ads at soccer clubs and US major-league teams mentioned AI, up from 8% in Jul–Dec 2025. Machine learning went from 15% to 18%. Soccer clubs ask for dashboards and video analysis far more often than MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL employers. The numbers come from 1,870 postings collected by SportsJobs Online in Nov 2025–Oct 2026.
- Job ads mentioning AI
- 30%
- Jul–Oct 2026, up from 8% in Jul–Dec 2025
- Job ads mentioning machine learning
- 18%
- Jul–Oct 2026, 15% in Jul–Dec 2025
- Soccer ads asking for Tableau / Power BI
- 43%
- vs 16% at MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL employers
- Soccer ads asking for video analysis
- 17%
- vs 1% at MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL employers
AI mentions have quadrupled. Machine learning has barely moved.
Many of the new AI mentions ask analysts and engineers to use AI tools, such as coding agents or AI-assisted analytics, rather than to build machine learning models. Sentences about AI in the hiring process are excluded.
| Employers | Period | Postings | AI | Machine learning | Python | SQL | Tableau / Power BI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soccer + US major leagues | Jul–Dec 2025 | 904 | 8% | 15% | 33% | 34% | 22% |
| Soccer | Jul–Dec 2025 | 257 | 7% | 16% | 32% | 36% | 43% |
| US major leagues | Jul–Dec 2025 | 647 | 8% | 14% | 33% | 33% | 14% |
| Soccer + US major leagues | Jan–Jun 2026 | 934 | 18% | 19% | 40% | 39% | 26% |
| Soccer | Jan–Jun 2026 | 287 | 16% | 17% | 42% | 46% | 43% |
| US major leagues | Jan–Jun 2026 | 647 | 18% | 20% | 39% | 36% | 19% |
| Soccer + US major leagues | Jul–Oct 2026 | 761 | 30% | 18% | 41% | 37% | 21% |
| Soccer | Jul–Oct 2026 | 160 | 22% | 19% | 39% | 38% | 47% |
| US major leagues | Jul–Oct 2026 | 601 | 33% | 17% | 42% | 37% | 14% |
Soccer clubs want dashboards and video. US leagues don't.
Python, SQL, R, and machine learning appear at similar rates in both groups. The difference is in reporting and performance analysis: soccer postings ask for Tableau or Power BI 43% of the time, against 16% in US major leagues, and for video analysis tools such as Sportscode 17% of the time, against 1%.
| Skill | Soccer501 postings, 134 employers | Soccer, UK employers106 postings, 41 employers | US major leagues1,369 postings, 214 employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python | 38% | 38% | 39% |
| SQL | 40% | 40% | 36% |
| R | 21% | 11% | 21% |
| Tableau / Power BI | 43% | 41% | 16% |
| Machine learning | 17% | 20% | 17% |
| AI | 17% | 22% | 22% |
| Cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP) | 15% | 26% | 18% |
| Tracking data | 6% | 6% | 6% |
| Video analysis | 17% | 22% | 1% |
| Computer vision | 0% | 0% | 3% |
Methodology
SportsJobs Online collects data, analytics, and technology job postings from sports employers' career pages and applicant tracking systems. This report uses postings from soccer clubs, leagues, and federations, and from MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL teams and league offices.
A posting counts toward a skill when its description mentions it. "AI" means AI, artificial intelligence, or LLMs; sentences about AI in the recruitment or interview process are ignored. A role reposted by the same employer with the same title in the same half-year counts once. Coverage before July 2025 was thinner, so the trend starts there. The latest half-year is partial and ends on the last full month.
The data describes employers whose postings SportsJobs Online tracks, not every sports employer. Shares are of data and analytics postings only, not of all jobs at those employers.
Download and Cite the Data
Journalists and researchers can use the charts and numbers with a link to this page.
Suggested citation: SportsJobs Online, Sports Analytics Hiring Statistics, sportsjobs.online/statistics