professional leagues
Paid athletic organizations
Professional leagues are organized competitions where athletes are paid to play, as opposed to amateur leagues where participants compete without compensation.
The term typically refers to the highest level of competition in a sport: He was drafted into the professional leagues straight out of college.
Major professional leagues like the NFL, NBA, and MLB operate as businesses with franchises, contracts, and revenue sharing.
The phrase sometimes appears figuratively for any elite competitive arena: Corporate law is the professional leagues of the legal world.
- basketballTeam sport with hoops
- franchiseLicensed business operation
- expansion teamNewly created sports club
- hockeyStick-and-goal sport
- footballField sport with goals
sponsorships · salary cap · governing body · fandom · star player · rivalries · esports · rugby · licensing agreements · commissioner · collective bargaining · cricket · revenue sharing · farm system · draft picks · relegation · player unions · free agency
- sports organizationsNCAA, athletic clubs, sports leagues, NFL, sports federations
- sportssports, basketball, tennis, athletics, golf
- Volleyballvolleyball rules, beach volleyball, indoor volleyball, setter, hitter
- Asian Sportsmartial arts, judo, kung fu, taekwondo, karate
professional leaguesamateur leagues
Non-professional competitive organizations
amateur athletics · amateur sports · recreational leagues · club sports · intramural sports
professional leaguespickup games
Casual unorganized athletic contests
professional leaguesminor leagues
Professional development tiers
youth leagues · junior leagues · farm teams · high school sports · varsity sports