The athletic equipment rep — selling sporting goods to retailers, teams, and institutions.
As a Junior Sporting Goods Sales Rep, you're selling athletic equipment and sporting goods to B2B customers — sporting goods retailers, team dealers, schools, recreation departments, and sports organizations. You're representing brands or distributors to accounts that resell or use the products.
Your day involves account visits, presenting new products, taking orders, checking inventory and displays, and building relationships with buyers and merchandisers. You need product knowledge relevant to your category — whether that's team sports, outdoor recreation, fitness equipment, or other segments.
Passion for sports helps in this role — you're selling to people who care about athletic performance, and credibility comes from understanding how products actually get used. If you love sports and want a career connecting products with the people and retailers who serve athletes, this is a natural fit.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
The athletic equipment rep — selling sporting goods to retailers, teams, and institutions.
Median pay for a Junior Sporting Goods Sales Representative is about $67K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $38K to $134K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Active Listening, Speaking, Negotiation, Social Perceptiveness, and Persuasion.
Most people in this role hold a high school diploma.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 0.3% through 2034, with roughly 1.3 million people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Sporting Goods Sales Representative, Sales Specialist, and Senior Sales Specialist.
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