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How hard is it to land a dream job of working as an Athletic Trainer in the NFL?

HS Senior looking to get his degree in AT. I played Varsity Football and would like to do AT at the collegiate or NFL level one day but I know it is probably very competitive.

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Rachael’s Answer

Hi Lucas,

Getting a job as an athletic trainer with the NFL is very competitive. The NFL offers internships for students as well as certified athletic trainers. If you would like to work in the NFL these would be your first stepping stones. To start though, you will need to go to an accredited athletic training program. I suggest going to a school with large football program, preferably a Division 1 FBS or FCS school so you can do clinical rotations with the football team and gain experience. While you are a student, you can apply for one of the NFL internships through PFATS (Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society). The NFL also has an Early Career Program that you can apply for which will give you experience working with the professional athletes. After you graduate with a masters degree in athletic training, you can apply for an internship through PFATS with the NFL, or apply for jobs with Division 1 football programs. It may take a couple years of working with high level college football teams before you can get a job with the NFL, but it all depends. Good luck!

Rachael recommends the following next steps:

Check out the NFL early career program https://www.nfl.com/careers/early-career-programs
Check out the PFATS internship page https://www.pfats.com/internships/
Research accredited athletic training programs https://caate.net/Students
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