Professionalism is now the reality in many sports. For the professional sportsperson (most professional sports are male), there are several challenges and issues that make them a 'special' type of worker. We explore three of the challenges of the sports professional: the short-term nature of the career and its implications which includes living with injury and the fear of life after a sports career; second, the 'brawn drain'; and third, the celebrity status of athletes.
