Michigan Athletes Go Pro More Often Than You Might Think

Remember that old NFL Play 60 commercial with Cam Newton and the kid who was warming up his arm while telling the former MVP he was coming to the league to take his job?

It's a classic clip, and it resonates with young athletes all over the globe who dream of making it to the big leagues in their sport.

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That kid is 19 years old now, but he went into acting, not sports.

But I and so many other athletes remember dreaming of playing sports, achieving what appears to so many to be an unattainable dream. It's lost on younger athletes just how good you have to be and just how lucky you have to be to even have a chance at making that dream a reality.

The crushing reality for me is that the state I grew up in, Alabama, actually gives athletes the second-best odds of playing in the NFL - a 1 in 4,960, second only to Louisiana.

But for Michigan athletes, the odds are in their favor more than most.

The Sports Geek recently released a study that detailed the mathematical odds of going pro in all major sports: football, basketball, baseball, hockey, tennis and golf. Surprisingly, it's easier to get into the NFL than it is to make it as a tennis star, where The Sports Geek points out you're more likely to win the lottery than play at Wimbledon. Collectively, the odds an American goes pro in one of these sports is just 1 in 556.

The study also ranked all 50 states, taking data points of the origins of athletes in every sport from the United States and Michigan athletes have strong odds. According to the study, Michigan athletes have a 1 in 5,443 chance of going pro in any sport, which ranks as the 12th-best odds among all 50 states.

While those odds are worse than Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and California, they are better than Texas - which is a bit surprising.

Still, it's clear that Michigan athletes should dream big. There are seven Division 1 colleges in the state, and while not everyone can play for the Wolverines or Spartans, there are plenty of opportunities. Find the right camps, make the right connections, and who knows, your or your child's dream may just come true.