A Florida woman has tossed in her teaching career — quite literally — in order to play professional cornhole.
Rosie Streker, 40, spent close to two decades educating elementary school kids, before realizing she was earning more from her corn hole hobby than she was from her profession.
“I’d earned $50,000 a year teaching full time and realized I was also earning $50,000 a year playing cornhole,” Streker told insider. She now makes even more cash.
The ex-educator first began playing cornhole — the classic American game which involves tossing beanbags into a hole hollowed out of a wooden platform — 10 years ago and she quickly became hooked.
Realizing she had a knack for the game, the teacher began competing in statewide tournaments, raking in thousands of dollars in prize money.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing, with Streker struggling to strike a balance between sport and school.
“You get to school at 7 am for a very emotionally draining job before going to play cornhole at 6 pm, and events run till midnight. I had a serious lack of sleep,” she recalled.
Streaker joined the American Cornhole League in 2018, and began earning even more money from sponsorships.
After giving birth to twins in February 2020, the teacher took several months off work, giving her time to fully focus on cornhole. At that moment, she knew she needed to quit the classroom.
“Working full time as a teacher and competing in cornhole wasn’t a viable option anymore,” she confessed. “A lot of traveling comes with cornhole. While I was playing in tournaments, my husband would be working from home, and family members would come over to help look after the children.”
Streker told Insider it wasn’t easy to give up her career, saying: “It was very bittersweet. I loved teaching… [But] I’ve taken my teaching skills into cornhole.”
The former teacher used to play cornhole doubles with her husband, but she has since acquired a new partner, Sam Finley. Last year, the pair won the women’s doubles world championship.
So far, Streker says she has no regrets about giving up teaching — at least from a financial point of view.
With ESPN AND CBS recently beginning to broadcast the American Cornhole League, it seems Streker certainly has cash to splash.
“A large part of my earnings is sponsorships,” she revealed. “I get more sponsorships than others… because I’m the most-televised female player in the sport.”
She added: “Sponsors can pay about $15,000 to $25,000 to be on your ACL jersey. Since cornhole has exploded in popularity during the pandemic, I’m making more money from sponsorships than ever before!”
