I agree, Niam, you seem to have a highly idealized view of what it would mean for you to have the equivalent of "jock respect." I don't think you're ever going to reach that level because, frankly, that's not how it actually works. Sure, they may seem popular during high school and college, but very few college players actually have a career in sports. You have to be the best of the best of the best to join the NFL, or NBA, or any other professional league, and most people aren't cut out for that. To earn people's respect, you actually need to be a decent human being and have a personality beyond stereotypical dumb jock. You also need to have some sort of marketable skills so you can enter a useful career, like Chit said. Any respect you see for jocks because of the sports they play will almost always fade unless they can make up for it in some other way (personality, skills, etc).