It’s an age-old tale that the jock gets the girl, experiences immense school popularity, and makes prom king. Meanwhile, the nerds often endure their high school years being sidelined with the promise that they’ll get the last laugh—perhaps, by going on to become a Fortune 500 CEO. But as it turns out, it’s all a lie. Really, being that sporty kid at school is likely to result in bringing home $220,000 more in cumulative wages than your nerdy peers.
At least, that’s according to a new study that followed the career outcomes of 400,000 athletes and non-athletes attending America’s notoriously competitive Ivy League colleges, like Harvard University, from 1970 to 2021.
