Great Sports Management Games That Are Not Football Manager

Key Takeaways

• Hockey Legacy Manager provides extensive player management mechanics and challenges players to rule their league for decades.
• Rugby League Team Manager 3 offers deep gameplay with new seasons, leagues, tactical options, and 7,000 players globally.
• Legend Bowl brings back American football’s charm with 16-bit graphics, franchise mode, and customizable team appearance.

It’s hard to think of a sports management game without considering Football Manager. If people aren’t thinking of that series, they’re thinking of its predecessor, Championship Manager, where players also picked a soccer team and tried to get them to the top of the league table.

They’ve inspired a series of urban legends and tales that have entertained fans, be it about athletes who were better in the game than in real life, or ones that weren’t real people. But soccer isn’t the only sport, and Football Manager isn’t the only sports management sim game around. There’s a wealth of management sims based on other sports, and these are the best of the bunch.

Updated October 12, 2024 by David Heath: There’s nearly a sports management sim for every sport that’s been turned into a video game. They even turned up in other games, like Yakuza 6 having a sole side game devoted to managing a baseball team, or Final Fantasy 7 having the equivalent of a horse stable sim via its Chocobo breeding & racing minigames.

But side ventures don’t cut it for this list. Whether they’re familiar sports like football, soccer, and baseball, or comparatively niche ones like eSports and pro wrestling, they have to be full management games. So, on top of other little tweaks and format changes, this list has been updated with more top examples of sports management sims that aren’t Football Manager, many of which don’t even involve football.

1 Eastside Hockey Manager

Sliding Out of Limbo Back into the Goal

Like Football Manager, Eastside Hockey Manager began life as a side project. It came out a decade later than its soccer-based chum as freeware for the PC and Mac. The game was made by Risto Remes and his team in 2001, where it offered 3,000 players and staff from the NHL to create their teams, and a near-infinite number of seasons to take them to the top.

The game caught the eye of Sports Interactive, who helped create every subsequent game in the series. It was also officially licensed by the NHL until NHL Eastside Hockey Manager 2007, which had 3,000 teams and 20 different leagues. But the series then went on hiatus and lost the NHL license. They’d bounce back with 2015’s Eastside Hockey Manager, which had more in-depth mechanics, extra options, multiplayer, realistic physics, and AI.

2 Hockey Legacy Manager 25

Giving Players More Choices To Rule The Rink

• Developer: Hockey Legacy Manager
• Released: September 2024
• Platforms: PC, Android

For years, Eastside Hockey Manager was really the only name in ice hockey management sims, and for some it likely still is. But it now has a strong competitor in Hockey Legacy Manager 25. Like EHM, it wants players to master its mechanics so they can create the ultimate team. With enough tactical know-how, they could rule its league for decades, be it from today or as far back as the sport’s early days in 1917.

However, reaching the top isn’t easy. Players have to maneuver around contract clauses, know who to trade in the new Three-Team-Trade system, train their team members with the right regimen to tailor them one way or the other, and scout for the hottest sporting prospects. If it’s done well, they’ll complete the in-game storylines, and make their athletes successful enough to earn a Hall of Fame induction.

3 Rugby League Team Manager 3

Leaving the Shoulder Pads at Home

• Developer: Alternative Software
• Released: April 2020
• Platforms: PC, macOS

Many great game developers have long since gone defunct. Core Design, the company behind the original Tomb Raider games, is no more. Sensible Software, who made the almighty Sensible World of Soccer, is also gone. Yet Alternative Software Ltd, who started off making maligned budget games based on British kids’ shows like Count Duckula and Postman Pat, are still around today.

They’ve made some much better-received games over the decades, with the Ruby League Team Manager series getting plaudits. The best entry, RLTM3, brought in a new in-game engine that brought in new seasons, leagues, tactical options, ways to negotiate player sales, and more. There are a lot of players too: 7,000 all across the world. If anyone wanted to dive into the deep end of the NFL’s European predecessor, RLTM3 is as deep as it gets.

4 Legend Bowl

Bringing the Shoulder Pads Back

But what if rugby just doesn’t have the same appeal to some people as American Football? It lacks the helmets, pageantry, and nostalgia that the gridiron games have. After all, the NES had Tecmo Bowl, not Tecmo Rugby. Luckily, Super Pixel Games has those fans covered with Legend Bowl. It’s akin to its rival Retro Bowl in that both replicate their old-school predecessors with their 16-bit-like graphics.

However, Legend Bowl also offers a Franchise Mode that allows players to pick their team, players, and coaches, and infinite seasons to take them to the titular Legend Bowl. They’ll have to keep on top of the in-game news, player traits, training, events, and more to get the most out of their team. Players can also customize their team’s appearance and play in realistic weather conditions. The game has since branched out from the PC to current-gen consoles, including the Switch. So it’s a good time to get into the game.

5 Retro Bowl

A Touchdown That Doesn’t Need a Touch-Up

If Legend Bowl and Football Mogul don’t offer enough touchdowns and shoulder pads, Retro Bowl has their back. New Star Games’ own tribute to Tecmo Bowl gives players a simple but extensive take on American Football. Players can only control the offensive team, but they can manage defensive players among other options. They can draft, trade, and cut players, sign any tempting-looking free agents, and boost morale to make their team the best around.

It was originally a mobile game on iOS and Android, so there are extra perks if players cough up an additional $1. For example, players can edit their uniforms, logos, etc., to resemble their favorite teams. That, or create completely new ones if those NFL teams feel old hat. The game is also available on the Nintendo Switch if players would rather pick up a Joycon than their smartphone.

Turning the Hopefuls of Today into Tomorrow’s Superstars

• Developer: Achi Jones
• Release: December 2022
• Platform: PC

Starting in the big leagues is fine and dandy, but some players might prefer to go to where it all begins: college football. Football Coach: College Dynasty puts the player in charge of either an established college or a fresh school seeking to make a name for itself. They can recruit players fresh from high school or junior college (with a scholarship or other perks to sweeten the deal), and develop them during the off-season to get a head start on the competition.

With plenty of customizable rules, leagues, and 100+ offensive/defensive plays, there are all sorts of ways for players to level up their teams. The more levels they gain, the more unique skills the coach gains. Then, the more they earn, the more they can spend on updating the school’s facilities, marketing, academic resources, etc. They can turn their struggling school into an athletic powerhouse through decades of in-game play, assuming they can make the right calls.

Not the Latest, But The Best

• Developer: Kerry Bats
• Released: September 2020
• Platforms: PC, macOS

Wait, Pro Strategy Football 2021? Why that game over Pro Strategy Football 2024 or the upcoming 2025 version? Because the latter isn’t out yet, and the former got a much cooler critical response. It lacked features some of the older games had, and its newer ones were more fiddly. The 2021 installment had a much warmer reception, offering plenty of customizable options and ways to play the game.

Want to play in the 1940s style or by Canadian rules? The options will let players do that. If they want to set the rules themselves or alter the animations, they can do that too. They can also load up their own seasons, be they historical or otherwise, and play with the professionals or the college teams. On top of that, they can coach teams against their friends in the multiplayer mode or, if they want to relax, just set it to simulate a season and watch how it all plays out.

Rewrite Football History and Take It into a New Future

• Developer: Sports Mogul
• Released: September 2023
• Platform: PC

While some games focus more on sport than management, the Football Mogul games are all about management. They’re probably the closest fans can get to an NFL Manager game, as the series has allowed players to be the owner, head coach, or general manager of an NFL team since the original 1999 game. Created by Sports Mogul, the game uses text boxes, diagrams, and pictures to simulate the management experience.

Players can handle everything from free-agent signings and draft picks to editing playbooks and making play calls. The latest entry, Football Mogul 24, updates things for the 2023/2024 season, including 270+ projected college roster picks. That’s alongside an expanded historical database covering 72 years of football history. Whether players want to rewrite the past or create a new future, Football Mogul 24 has it all.

9 WBSC eBaseball Power Pros

The Japanese Baseball Sensation Finally Reaches the West

WBSC eBaseball Power Pros isn’t strictly about management, as its release was essentially Konami testing the Western waters to see if they’d like their Power Pros baseball series, which has been entertaining Japanese and mainland Asian players since the NES days. This is why the graphics have an old-school look that resembles a cleaned-up N64 game.

It has an extensive customizable team editor option that lets players build the perfect team, along with adjustable controls. The game can be either as simple as an arcade game or as complex as the MLB games with just a few options. There’s a decent tutorial for newbies, along with plenty of offline, online, and multiplayer modes. Best of all, it only costs $1! It’s a good deal for casual and hardcore baseball fans alike.

10 Mario Superstar Baseball

Casual Management for Casual Baseball Fans

There have been rumors about Nintendo making a new Mario-themed baseball game for a while now. The Italian plumber and his friends haven’t picked up a bat since Super Mario Sluggers on the Wii in 2008. That game was fair, albeit a bit of a wagglefest with the motion controls. So, fans might prefer its Gamecube predecessor, Mario Superstar Baseball, which came with a few light management options.

It’s aimed at a casual crowd with its power-ups, Bob-ombs, and party-style mini-games. However, it does have a Chemistry mechanic. Teammates will play differently depending on whether they’re partnered up with someone they like, dislike, or are neutral about. So, players have to be careful who they pick, or they might put themselves at a disadvantage.

11 Out Of The Park Baseball Series

Offers a More In-Depth Baseball Management Experience

The Out of the Park Baseball series has been the premier baseball management sim since its first installment in 1999. The 2007 edition even managed to beat the legendary Orange Box on Metacritic. Then it had a brief stint under Football Manager creators Sports Interactive but has since been published by developers Out of the Park Developments directly.

The series has received official licensing from both Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball since OOTP 2016, so fans can now pick out their favorite players to make their team the best in the world. Each game was well received by fans, improving with each entry, until OOTP 2024 proved a little rough around the edges. Until it gets some improvements, it may be best to seek out older entries like OOTP 2021.

12 Astonishing Basketball Manager

Going to Astonishing Lengths

For basketball fans, there’s Astonishing Basketball Manager, a mobile game that made the leap to PC. It certainly sounds astonishing too, as the game gives the player a life beyond working out tactics, picking players, and switching up strategies. They might have to figure out how to feed their team if the cook gets sick, deal with their players’ concerns in real time via their messages, and take on a rival manager.

The game wants players to create their own life story on the way to winning the Legend Cup. They can still swap out tired players, arrange time-outs, check the rankings and fan reactions, and do everything a basketball coach does. There are just extra story options for flavor, like helping smaller, local teams, becoming a rock star, and finding romance. Odd as it is, it’s a step up from the infamous Livin’ Da Dream mode in NBA 2K16.

13 Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 2023

Letting the Sport Speak for Itself

• Developer: Wolverine Studios
• Released: November 2022
• Platform: PC

Wolverine Studios’ Draft Day Sports franchise has covered all sorts of sports from Pro and College Football to Pro Golf. But their best-rated game was Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 2023. It doesn’t have the background story options seen in Astonishing Basketball Manager, as the only story that needs telling is the one on the court.

The player picks their favorite team and then tries to reach the top of the league by drafting and trading teammates, hiring the best free agents, and plotting out the team’s strategy for their next game. DDS: PB23 lets digital GMs run press conferences, play fantasy basketball, and get rewards for good decision-making. As humble as it looks, its 2D gameplay arguably offers the best basketball management game around on PC.

14 Tennis Elbow Manager 2

Ace Players Require an Ace Manager

If swinging for the fences isn’t a player’s thing, maybe helping a future ace master their lobs and backhands will be more to their liking. In Tennis Elbow Manager 2, players can train up to 9 athletes, build up their skills, gain sponsors, and more as they try to produce the world’s #1 player.

They can stick to the traditional text-based action, or watch their players’ matches in real-time 3D. That, or play as them directly if they don’t trust the AI. Though it’s solid enough as developers Mana Games got real tennis players in to help get things just right. The game’s available on Steam and is considered to be one of the best tennis sims around, if not the best overall.

15 F1 Manager 2023

A Different Way to Keep Cars on the Track

There are many racing games based on Formula 1, but there aren’t many management games based on it. EA Sports and Intelligent Games tried one out in 1999 with F1 Manager to middling reviews. They didn’t try again for 23 years when Frontier Developments gave it another shot with F1 Manager 2022, which essentially built upon F1 2020‘s My Career option.

Players could customize their cars, get new parts, and work with engineers based on real F1 staff to organize their pacing and pit stops to stay in pole position per race. The sequel, F1 Manager 2023, has all the same features, but with new tracks like the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, and a race replay for players to see their favorite moments from the season. It’s held up better than F1 Manager 2024, which got sent to the pits after it launched with some game-breaking bugs. They’ve since been fixed, but F1M2K3 is solid right out of the box.

16 Motorsport Manager

Where the Challenge Goes Beyond Racing

F1 Manager 2022 was one of the stronger motorsport management games until Frontier Developments suddenly stopped supporting the game 2 months after its release. It took fan backlash to keep the updates coming, and Frontier is still supporting its sequel. But things were smoother for its elder rival, Motorsport Manager.

The game has received consistent updates and a range of DLC since its original release in 2017. It lets players develop their cars, and appoint drivers and engineers to get ahead. However, they have to be careful, as it’ll throw in the odd curveball to test players’ skills and in-game reputation. Each port is solid, but the PC and Switch versions are arguably the best with their extra tracks and exclusive circuits.

17 Open Wheel Manager 2

Go From Rags to Riches, or Start With Riches and Stay There

• Developer: Paprikash Games
• Released: October 2023
• Platform: PC

While it’s not the prettiest-looking game in the world, Open Wheel Manager 2 aims to be the best F1 racing management game. Players have to invest in the best drivers, mechanics, and cars to create the ultimate racing team. With the right sponsorships and strategies, they can make a strong car that can put their name on the game’s digital map.

Players can use the 3D features to watch over their performance and see where they can improve their strategy, or simply watch as their plan comes together. If they’re really confident, they can start right with a top-tier team and see if they can keep them that way. Otherwise, they start right from the bottom and build their legacy from scratch, watching their team gradually go from contenders to champions.

18 Pro Cycling Manager 2022

Human Power over Horsepower

Racing in a car can be impressive, though it’s not quite as physical as cycling. Cyanide has been making Cycling Manager games since 2001, with the intent of replicating what goes into preparing for a professional cycling race, including the world-famous Tour de France, where cyclists pass through the Pyrenees and Alps to reach the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

The latest game is Pro Cycling Manager 2023, though the best is arguably Pro Cycling Manager 2022. It brought in a new scouting system for players to build up their team, which would improve the further they went into the game. The new riders would also develop more dynamically through training, with more varied tracks and stats making a bigger impact on play. It’s a PC exclusive, and available via Steam.

19 Starters Orders 7

Horsepower over Human Power

• Developer: Strategic Designs
• Release: May 2019
• Platform: PC

Strategic Designs is an interesting development company. They’re most famous for the Starters Orders series, where players manage their racehorse stable. But their website also offers Greyhound Manager 2 Rebooted, a remake of their dog racing management sim, and Eat, Sleep, Bet, Repeat, where players can learn just what it was like to be an unemployed punk addicted to gambling in a dreary British seaside town in 1986. Make sharp bets on football and horse racing to make the most of state benefits (‘the dole’), or it’s game over.

But living in the past isn’t a sport. Horse racing is, and Starters Orders 7 is perhaps the best and most realistic sim of the sport on the market. Players can buy, breed, train, and bet on their horses (or others), which come complete with their own lineages and records to determine their worth. Then they can send horses off to the races, including top-level competitions like the Grand National. If players don’t want to simulate the spectacle, they can take control of the jockeys and race them themselves.

20 Teamfight Manager

Become a Player Managing Other Players

Here’s a meta entry: a game where the player manages a team of other video game players. Created by Team Samoyed, Teamfight Manager has players create their own eSport team for matches in a 16-bit take on DOTA. They can pick or ban champions to produce the best combo, then use Training Points to boost one stat or another to make them play better.

They can also upgrade their training center facilities, change their gear, and provide new equipment to keep them strong and happy. Then they can take on the AI or fight their friends in 1v1 battles or 10-player scrums. So, it’s not a bad choice to pep up one’s collection on PC, macOS, and the Nintendo Switch.